-^^6
^76^
-^^IsT-
^^^^,,^ATED HlSTo,^^
-OF-
ofoiA County
CALIFORNIA.
Containing- a History <>f tin' County of Sommia fiMm tlic Earliest Period
of its Occupancy to the Tresent Time, to<,'ethev witli (Himpses of
its Prospective Future; witli Profuse Illustrations of its
Beautiful Scenery, Full-Page Portraits of some of
its most Eminent Men, and Biograjdiical
Mention of Many of its I'ioneers and
also of Pi-onnnent Citizens
of To-day.
m
THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY,
11;! Ada.m.n St., Ciiicm.o, Ii.linoi.^.
1 b 8 l> .
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IXTUODUCTORY
CHAPTER I.
A CnAPTEn OP C'F.NTrniF.s.
California Discovered— Origin of Name— Sir Francis Dralie— Monterey Bay Discovered by Viscaino— San
Franciscan Friars Plant the Cross at San Diego— Bay of San Francisco Discovered— Monterey Founded and
Mission Establislied— San Francisco Bay Explored —Presidio and Mission Established al San Francisco— Call,
fornia Weak and Defenseless — Ceutury Ends and no Settlement North of Verba Buena - - . . 4-11
CHAPTER 11.
The Kt'ssians at Ross.
The Russian American Fur Companj- — Razanof Visits San Francisco in 1805 — Fishinir for Otter along the
Coast— In 1809 Kuskof Anchored in Bodega Bay— In 1811 the Russians Established Fort Ross— What the
Frenchman, Durant ('illy, said of Ross in 1838 — Ross a Busy Bee-Hive of Industry - - - - 12-19
CHAPTEi; TTI.
The SpANIAKtlR NonTTT OF THE Bay.
After Forty Vears the Spaniards Secure Lodgment North of San Francisco — A Branch Mission Established at
San Rafael in 181S— Exploring Expedition under Captain Argiiello in 1821 — In 1823 Padre Altimira Visited
Petalnma and Sonoma Valleys and Chose Sonoma as a Mission Site — Missicra Dedicated as San Francisco
Solano, April 4, 1824 20-28
rUAlTER IV.
The RrssTASs and Ross to a CoNoi.rsiON.
The Russians Realize Ihey have too Narrow a Fiehl — Will Buy more Territory or Sell their Establishments —
Overtures not well Received by Mexican Authorities — Vallejo Comniandante at Sonoma in 18:J4 — Russians
Sell to Captain John Sutter in 1811 and Depart for Alaska— P>idwell and Beunitz at Ross — Fort Ross in 188S
29-S()
CHAITEi; V.
.MEXIfO UuflES Cor.ONTZATTON NOUTH OF SaN FuANCTSCO.
Governor Figueroa Sets on Foot a Coloni/alion Enterprise — Attempts to Establish Settlements at Pelaluma
and Santa Rosa in 18:!:!— In 183.j Sonoma Laid Out and made the Center of Military Power and Secular Coloni-
zation North of the Bay — Vallejo Authorized to Otler C'olonists Grants of Land — Becomes the Controlling
Power — Makes an Alliance with Indian Chief Solano — In 18:38 Sinall-Pox Among the Indians- - 37-44
iv CONTRNTS.
CHAPTER VI.
The C'ArTi'UE of Sonoma.
Mexican Kule Neariiig ils EdJ — California Leaders Quarreling Among Themselves — War Expected Between
United Stales and Jlexico— Americans in a Ticklish Position — What Larkin was Expected to do — What Fre-
mont did do — Bancroft's Instructions to Commodore Sloal — Vallejo — Sutter — Fremont and Gillespie — Midnight
Attack by Indians — Fremont's Uelurn Down the Sacramento Valley — Sonoma Captured — Capture of Vallejo —
Taken to Sacramento — How Received by Fremont Ah-M
ciTArTER vn.
The Bkah Flag — Stars and STRirEs.
Kevolutionists Found a New Government — Hear Flag Adopted — How and by Whom JIade — Captain Ide Issues
a Proclamation — Lieutenant Missroon Arrives — Killing of Cowie and Fowler at Santa Rosa — Battle of Olom.
Jiali — Castro Leads Troops Across the Bay — Fremont Hastens to Sonoma — Goes to San Bafael — C'alilornia Bat-
talion Organized — Fremont Starts After Castro — Captain Montgomery Dispatched Lieutenant Revere to Sono-
ma with an American Flag, and July 9 the Bear Flag came down and the Stars and Stripes went up - 57-G!l
rilAPTER VIII.
The Past and Present.
The Bear Flag, how male— Names of Kevolutionists — State Seal — General M. G. Vallejo — General .7. A
Sutter— Sonoma District Pioneers — Native Sons of the Golden West ....-.- 70-SS
CHAPTER IX.
Military and Politicat. History.
Sonoma Under Jlililaiy Rule — Civil OtHcers Appointed — How Justice was Administered — Constitutional C(Ui-
vention — First Election — California Admitted into the Union — Machinery of Civil Government Set in Motion —
Agitation of County Seat Removal— Santa Rosa Chosen — Early Court Accommodations — County Buildings
- - - - . 89-101
CHAPTER X.
Location and Topograi'iiv.
Boundaries of Sononia Cnunty—Her Mountain Ranges — Forests and Valleys .... 103-106
CHAPTER XI.
American Occvpation.
Sonoma a Central Point after the Bear Flag Revolution— Efl'ect of Discovery of the Mines— F. G. Blume's
Staleraent— First Settlers at Petaluma— Bachelor Ranches— County as it was in 1854— Assessor's Report for
1855 — First Fair in Sonoma County 107-117
CHAPTER XII.
Reminiscent of a Third op a C'enti'ry Aoo.
An Epitome of the First Year's Record of the Sonoma County Journal— The Geysers in 185(i— The Petaluma
Hunters in 18(iO 118-l'i8
CHAPTER XIII.
The Coi nty Developing.
Immigration Pours into Sonoma County -Products of Country Between Pelalumaand Bodega— Santa Rosa and
Russian River \ alleys— The Year 18(it— Land Troubles— Bodega War— Healdsburg War— .Muldrew Shadow-
Miranda Grant — Bnjori|ues (irant - - - ItiO-Hl
rjONf Biffs.
CHAPTEH XIV.
GEOI.OriY, MiNEHALOGY AND FOSSII-S.
Basalt Rock — Asbestos — Chromic Iron — Cinnabiir — Suli>luir — Coi^per — Fossil Uemains — Petri fad ions 14'i-147
CHAPTER X\'.
MExrcAN Land Grants of Sonoma County.
ItancUos Musalacon — ^Colate — Giiilicos — Canada lie Pogolome — Llano de Santa liosa— El Molino — Ilnichica —
Yulpa — Guenoc — Soloyome — I'odega — Blucher — Callajomi — Muniz — Lagnna de San Antonio — Arroyo de San
Antonio — Senode IMalconies— Uoblar de la l\[isera— Canada de la loniva — Eslero Americano — German — Peta-
liima — San Miguel — 'I'zabaco — Caslamayome — Cabeza de Santa Kosa — Agua Caliente . - - 14y-lo6
CHAPTER XVI.
Haii.ways, Highways, Water Courses and Bays.
San Francisco and Northern Pacific Railroad — North Pacific Coast Railroad — Santa Rosa and Carquinez Rail-
road—Public Highways — The Last Stage Driver — Rivers and Water Courses— Bays and Coves— Colonel Peter
Donahue - - - ir)7-104
CHAPTER XVIL
Events in Chronoi-ogicai, Order.
A Record of Years — Incidents — Accidents — Discove.ies — Developments, etc. .... ]fi.")-170
CHAPTER XVIIL
Indian Mass.^cres.
Ill-fated Sonoma Countians — Doctor Smeathman— Canfield, Van Ostrand ami Borton — Barnes — .Jndson,
Woodworth, Baker and Old Benjamin — Leihy — Mrs. Sallie Ann Canfield 171-177
CHAPTER XIX.
Sonoma and Marin County Agricultural Society.
When Organized — Its Changes in Organization — Its Fairs and Officers — Change of Location of Fair Grounds —
Its Good Ett'ect on Our Industries 178-1H3
CHAPTER XX.
Nature's Laboratory- The Geysers.
The Geysers — Visited in ISOri by Vice-President Schuyler Colfax and Samuel Bowles, Editor of the Springfield
.Massachusetts, liepuhlican — What Mr. Bowles Wrote — Clark Fos.s — The Eartluiuake, 1808 184-188
CHAPTER XXI.
Redwood Forests.
E.\tent of Redwood Forests — Lumber Output of Mills — Colonel Aimstrong's Grove — A ilousterTree — The Big
Bottom Forests, etc. . - . 18!I-UI4
CHAPTER XXII.
Names Belonging to History.
President Rutherford B. Hayes, Geneial William T. Sherman and Secretary of War Alexandei' Kauisey— Culo-
nel Rod .Matheson—.Iolin Miller Cameron — Salmi Morse- - - 1!I5-'J00
CHAPTER XX ill.
Zoological.
Animals Native of Sonoma County — Grizzly, Brown and Black Bear — Panther-Fox— Wolf— Coyote— Wild
Cat— Mounrain Cat— Elk, Deer, Antelope, etc. 201-204
CHAPTER XXIV.
Our Flora anm Conikera. - . . . 205-209
OONrEWTS.
CHAPTEll XX\'.
" I.o Till-; Poou Indian."
The Imliaus— Mission Record of Tribal Kaines— Vallejo's Esliiuatp of their Niimlier— Number at Time of
American Settlement— Complexiou and Stature— How they Lived— Tlieir Implements— Interview with Cask.,
bel and Jose Viquaro — John Walker's Statement ;;iO-'2i:i
CIIAPTKi; XXVI.
General Htstory to a CoNcirPsiox.
From 1870 Onward — The Southern Counties Open to Settlement— Its Etieft— Sonoma Prospers Without a
Change in Iler Industries— Grain and Potatoes not Grown so Largely— Stock, Hay ami Fruit Growing— Kail-
ro.ids Stimulate the Lumber Business— Statistical and Otherwise — Sonoma County's Future '.'H-SiO
criAPTKR XXVIl.
Santa Rosa.
Town.ship History- Growth of tlie Cily— liusine^s Interests- Aildress of Hon. G. A. Johnson— Churches-
Schools — The Press . 2i3-242
t'llAPTKR XXVIIl.
PETAT.r>rA
Township History— Origin of Name- Chronological— Business Interests— Churches— The Press 24:^-'2(i4
CHAPTER XXIX.
Township IIistoriks.
Mendocino— Clovcnlale— Sonoma— Analy—Boilega — Russian River —Washington— Redwood— Ocean — Salt
Point — Ivuighl's Valley — Vallejo 2(i5-:i0(i
^BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES,^
A.
Abraham, Isidore 20!)
Adams, John 43!)
Agnew, S. J Cy'SH
Aguillon, Camille TUT
Akers, Stephen T3G
Alexander, J. .M 2T0
Alexander, L. M 311
Allen, Otis .SOo
Allen, S.I :i82
Amesbury, William 722
Anderson, L. S (iT5
Anderson, T. H. B 48;i
Andrews. Robert 581
Arata, B 402
Auradou, J. A (i:W
.\iistin, Charles 400
Austin, James 'MH
Austin, J.S ry.M
B.
Baer,G. B 2TT
Bailey, J. II 4fi(j
Bailitr,John 588
Baker, A. .M 729
Bale, Edward T 70:i
Barhani, .1. A .'U.5
Barlow, S. Q .531
Barnes, E. H fi40
Barth, Adam T:^3
Bayler, John .")11
Baylis, T. F r,7->
Bell, R. W ()l(i
Berry, B. B 818
Berry, S. B ;i22
Bidwell, Ira 41.5
Bloch, George 809
Bodwell, C. A 008
Bolle, Henry 830
Bohlin, F. A" 427
Bouton, Andrew 477
Bowman, J. H 497
Braunern, William 725
Briggs, Robert 419
Brooke, T.J 407
Brooks, Elmout 507
Brown, F.T 700
Brown, fl. C ,507
Brown, John 398
Brotherton, T. W 331
Bryant, D. S 338
Burnett, A. G 400
Burnham, Albert 708
Burris, L. W 088
Butt, Allied 026
Byce, L. C 548
Byington, H. W .59!)
C.
Cady, M. K 434
Caldwell, Albert .545
Campbell, Joseph 578
Campbell. J. T OOi
Cantield, W. D 078
Cary, Bartley 7 Ki
Carithers, D. N 42!)
Carr, Mark 41!)
Carriger, C. C 08;i
Caniger, Nicholas 009
Carroll, Patrick 415
Cassiday, Samuel 2."j8
(;assidy, J. W 405
Castens, Henry GT2
Cavanagh, John 560
Chalfanl, J. K .554
Champion, John 541
Chaniplin, C. C 584
Chart, Obed .591
Chase, M. E .' 500
Chauvet, Joshua .525
Clark, Benjamin ....412
Clark, James 532
Clitlord. Rev. G. B 077
CONTENTS.
CoiUlin?, G. R 440
C'otfey, lleury ('•i4
C'olgau, E. P.' 00!)
Colson limtliers 587
C'orastock, William 40'2
Cooper, S. K 'UD
Cooper, K. M 4:)4
Cooper, James ... .004
Conuer, Joliu -ilG
Cottle, B. H 2o8
Crais, O. W 4i;8
Cralle, L. J OJO
Crane, Joel . . .■"'.">(!
Crane, ]{i)ljert 40.')
Curtis, J. II 478
I).
Davidson, J. ¥. 404
Davidson, S. E 408
Davis, G. W. ikE. W 707
Davis, H. II 488
Davis, U. S 403
Davis, \V. S 008
De Haj' Brothers 715
Delalieia, H. II 440
Dfumau, Hod. Ezekial 543
De Turk, Isaac 310
Dickenson, J. K 404
Dickenson, AV. L 303
Diet/., Gerhard 725
Drayeiir, A. ct Brollicr 510
Dresel, Julius 500
Dunn, M. H 040
Dunu,T. M 504
Duuz, C. J 452
Eardlev, W. J 522
Edwards, J. L 384
Ely, Elisha 311
Esppy, G. T 590
Evans, E. W. M 450
F.
Farrar, M. C 503
Far(|uar, C. H 442
Ferguson, J. N 543
Ferguson, W. W 542
Fitield, E. J 307
Fitield, W. E 390
Fischer, G. F 50!)
Fisher it Kinslow 005
Fisk, Kev S. b 541
Filch, II. D 403
Fowler, E.J 026
Fowler, J. E 023
Fowler, S. C 623
Fowler. !S.L 624
Fox, Henry 333
Frasee, C. b 407
Fulkerson, .lohii 328
Fulkerson, Kirliard 327
Fulkerson, S. T 330
KulkersoM, T. W 329
Fulton, Thomas 524
Gale, D. I{ 612
Gale, Otis 521
Gallaway, A. J 3f5
Gannon, J. P 310
Gaver, A. P (103
Gearini;, Charles 717
Gibson, John 565
Gibson, J. K 568
Glaisler, T. S 5. 9
Glynn, F. B .563
Gobbi, P. & J. J 321
Goodman, L. S 702
Goss, Johu 605
Grainger, W. C 338
Granice, II. II ',81
Grant, C. F 405
Grant, J. I) 404
Green, P. F 091
Gregson, James 330
Grillith, E.J 412
Glover, CD 410
Gundlach, Jacob 499
Gunn, J. 0. B 540
H
llafhl, Conrad 100
Hall, George 585
Hall, J. W - 487
Hall, L. B 487
Hall, Robert 517
Haran, Owen 428
Hardin, J. A 400
Ilardin, L. A 009
Harmon, G. AV 485
Harris, Jacob 4.50
Harris, T. L 300
Harris, G. S 087
Hartsock, Mrs. I. M 030
Ilasbrouck, H. B 484
Haskell, Barnabas 310
Haskell, W. B 320
Hathaway, E. L 731
Hayden, E..\\ 440
Hayne, W. H 445
Heaton,S. O 028
Hendri.x, Lewis 020
Higgins, Asa 701
Hill, Dickson it Goodl'ellow 454
Hill, J. M 451
Hill, William.... 352
Hilton, W. H 001
Hinkle, J. B 530
Hoatr, O. H .503
Holloway, J. C 530
Holmes, H. P 728
Hoist, Peter 582
Hood, William 3.'0
Hooper, G. F 047
Hopkins, S. J 540
Howe, Roben 017
Howell, Orrin.' 619'
Hubbard, Henry 504
Hudson, David 710
Hudson, 11. W 411
Hudson, Martin 700
Hunt, J. II 444
Huntley, G. W 481
Huntley, Will 372
I.
Ink, W. V 442
Ivancuvich, George 331
J.
Jewett, D. G 308
Jewetl. E. G 515
Johnson, G. A 3S0
Johnson. 3.7. 421
Jones, W. D 480
K.
Kelly, J. W 378
Kennedy, G. H 526
Killam, A. F 724
King, G. F 0.50
King, John 435
Kirch, Henry 431
Knapp, A. H 734
Knapp, W. L 583
Kuu.st, Charles 714
Kraucke, P. W 5.1
L.
Lal'ranclii, Giuseppi 732
Lang, J.B (io2
Lapum, Hicks 537
Laughlin, A. D 450
Laughlin, J. H 408
Laughlin, J. M 432
Lauler, Nathan A; Co 4-18
Lee, A. G 731
Le Febvre, O. j>1 508
Lehn, Charles 5Ul
Leininger, Joseph. . . 6~<7
Lewis, J. B 470
Lewis, R. E 380
Lewis, W. A 606
Light, E. H 712
Likens, Levi 730
Lippitt, E S 037
Litchtield, Duraiit 638
Litchfield, Jlarliu 600
Longmore, William 607
Loomis, F. C 514
Losee, J. A 035
Luce, Jirah 345
Luce, M. Y 493
Ludwig, T. J 370
Lyon, R. B 711
M.
Manion, William 370
Mauion, W. U 379
Manuel, II. C 676
Martin, Jlrs. F. Jlcti 642
Martin, W. II ..406
Mather, J 348
Matheson, Col. Rod 340
Matthews, C. W 523
Mayuard, F. T .585
McChristian, Owen 598
McChristian, Patrick 5.0
McClelland, Buchanan 711
JlcCoimell, W. E (i.50
McDonnell, William 492
McGaughev, L. J 401
McGee, J. Il (iOO
JIcHarvey, Cliarles 041
McMeaus.A. C 344
McNabb, J. II 2.57
McXear, J. A 518
Meacham, Alonzo 643
Mecham, Harrison 084
Melson, J.R 425
Merchanl, T. S 66!)
Merrill, J. P 546
Meyer, Claus 583
Micliaels, Augu>l 700
Michaelson, L. C .630
Millingtou, Setli 555
Miller, A.J 420
Miller, C. S 66ii
Miller, O. T 51(i
COyTEXTS.
Miller, T. B :547
iMills, A. J 547
Moore, A. P oOl
Moore, Koberl 6«1
Mordecai, ThoiiKis 480
Morris, J. II. 1' 35S
Morrow, E. E 574
Mulgrew, F. B 691
Mulgrew, J. F 351
N.
Nay, S. A 453
Near,'C. D ms
Norton, L. A 424
U.
O'Brien, Joliu 08!)
Oliver, J. S U'Jo
Ormsby, G. W 43:i
On, .Julius 718
Overton, A. P :J32
Overton, J. II 714
P.
Paulieco, F. J 051
Pajre. T. S ()^6
Parker, Freman 511
Parkerson, C. J 737
Parks, I). H 474
Passalacjua, F 723
Patty, L. H 570
Pearce, George 682
Pepper, J. T 401
Pepper. W. H 48!)
Peny, C. A 604
Peters, A. N 422
Peters, J. T 482
Peterson, A. .1 350
Petitdidier, N 728
Philips, Waller 575
Piezzi, Victor 367
Piggott, .1. K 473
Pond, C. H 270
Poulson, O. P 721
Pratt, E. F 6.55
Pressley, .1. G 580
Prindle, William 426
Proctor, T.J 377
Puniphrev, A 671
Putnam, D. W. C 513
Putnam, T. C 507
Katkliir, W. G 620
Hagle,G. J 388
Kagadale, ,1. W 309
Range, Charles 505
Kankin, .J. II 420
Uasthen. Henry 472
Keid, .1. B 397
Iteiners, C. A ,574
I'.icksecker. L. E 0.59
Uidgwav, .Jeremiah 436
l!ol)in.son, W. .J 519
Kodgers, A. W 358
Hodgers, J. P 345
Rogers, E. A 343
Rose, J. R .579
Ross. Ijo.nsoTi 55S
Kufus, Ernst .538
Runyon, Arraslead 325
Russell, W. F 671
Rutledge, Thomas 690
f^arguisson, Cornelius 557
Sauhorn, G. N .560
Savage, C. W 735
Sbarboro, Andrea 48S
Scanimon, CM 459
Schmidt, Peter 727
Schniltger, C. II 594
.Schocken, Solomon 450
Schroder, John 094
Seaman, J. F 6.52
Sears, Franklin 517
Seavey, S. A 391
Shattuck, D. O 5.52
Shaw, I. E 459
Shaw, S. H 409
Shaw, William 690
Simi, G 673
Simpson & Roberts 674
Sink, W. D 713
Skillman, Theodore- 088
Smith, R. P 662
Snyder, J. R 413
Soidale & Giacomini 4!)8
Spencer, B. M ... 334
Springer, ChrislopI 726
Stamer & FeUhneyer 065
Stearns, F. R 5.!6
Steele, Frank 726
Stephens, William 705
Stevens, Lester 534
Stewart, David 497
Stewart. D. R 609
Stolen, P. N 615
Stridde, Charles 335
Sti'ong, John 704
Stuart, A B 341
Stuart, A. McG 342
Stuart, C. V 430
Sullivan, I. W 349
Surryhne, Edward 690
S wain, R. ,M 392 '
Sylvester, D. n' 512
T.
Talbot, Coleman .559
Talbot, Holmau 507
Taylor, J. S 4.55
Taylor, O. A 047 ;
Thompson, A. J 6.54
Thomson, E. P 053
Tivnen, John 462
Torr, C. L 0.53 ;
Torrance, S. H 573
Trapet, J. B 551
Trip]), 11. L 548 I
Tupper, G. A 3.55 [
U. !
Underbill, J. G 3.57
V.
Vallejo, M.G 72 I
Vollmar, P. II 013
M'agele, Conrad . . .732
Walden i Co 509 -
AValls, David 501
A\'alters, Sol 709
Warboys, J. W 365
Ward, T. M 667
Ware, A. 15 ,5.52
Wartield,R. H 644
Warner, A. L 469
\\'egener, Julius 580
Weguer, Edward 481
Weils, I^leasaut 317
Wells, W. R 314
Weske, Adolph 535
Weyl, Henry 443
Whallon, Murray 656
V\'hite, Harrison 381
White, J. H 673
Whitney, A. L. i: Co 617
Whitney, A. P 447
Whitney, W. B 681
Wightman, Chauncev 504
Wilbert, P .". , ','77
Wilcox, W. O 411
Wiley, J. W 597
Williamson, J. R 723
Wilson, J. E : 430
Wilton, T.G 314
Winans, D. M 6M2
■Winkle, Henry 619
Winkler, Clayton 627
Winter, T. S 502
Woodward, C. W 615
Woodworth, FA 373
■\Voolsev. E. W 576
Worth, "W. H 3.55
Wright, F. C 3.58
Wright, W.S. M 479
Y.
Yandle. F. J 6.55
York, C. W 6-18
Young, B S 374
Young, J. S 592
Z.
Zaitnian. William 555
Zimiuerniau, George 503
ILLUSTRATIONS.
Allen, Otis, Residence of 394
Adams, John 438
Auradou, J. A 632
Bouton, Andrew, Residence, Or-
chard and Nursery of 476
'Briggs, Robert 418
Colgan, E. P 698
Dickenson, W. L 360
Dickenson, W. L , Residence of. .361
Glynn, F. B., Residence and Mills
of 562
Johnson, G. A Frontispiece
McChristian, Patrick .528
Poulson, O. P 720
Proctor, T. J 376
Ragsdale, J. W 308
Runyon, Annslead 324
Scammon. C. M 4.58
Shearer, M. M 223
Sonoma County Court-House. . . . 99
Stamer & Feldmeyer, Residence
and Winery of 064
Stewart, David 496
Stuart, A. B 340
Wiley, J. W 596
i INTRODUCTORY. ^
-^&(
tT first seeming the writing of a county
history does not present the features of a
difficult task, but tlie work once entered
upon, it is found tliat the very narrowness of
the field but serves to perplex and render more
intricate the labor. As an integral part of the
warp and woof of a great State it requires
great care and nice discernment to determine
where the shades of legitimate county history
end and State history begins. This is more
particularly true of Sonoma County than of any
other county in the State, for she is the warp
beam back to which is traceable every thread of
California history since it passed under the
dominion of the .Vmcricans. Nowhere else in
the State is there presented such a tangled skein
of history to unravel as in this same Sonoma
County. At the very outset we are confronted
with four distinct and different conditions of
humanity, each fulfilling an allotted life-work —
all living history. Compassed by different envi-
ronments, and battling with that destiny that
marks the fittest for survival, each has a claim
for recognition and Justice from the pen of
truthful, impartial history. Indians, Russians,
Spaniards and Americans will each, in turn, re-
ceive tliat attention and consideration that the
importance of their respective being and life-
mission may seem to warrant. There is now
but a sad remnant of Sonoma County Indians
left. Soon they will all have passed away. Of,
and about them, coming generations will have
a right to expect to find in the pages of history
some authentic account. So, too, of the Rus-
sians, who, in the early years of the century,
and even before the Spaniards had tempted her
wilds, had established a colony in the northern
end of the now Sonoma County, it will be per-
missible to give as extended an account as can
be safely vouched for as being accurate and au-
thentic. This Eussian occupation doubtless ac-
celerated the coming hither of those under
Spanish authority, and whatever there was of
friction on account of this seeming joint occu-
pancy of this territory by Spaniard and Musco-
vite, comes within the legitimate scope of Sonoma
County history. Of the Spanish occupation
and rule, it will be our aim to use just discrimi-
nation in drawing conclusions between the con-
flicting statements and claims of the difierent
historians of that period. For two decades pre-
vious to the hoisting of the Dear Flag at
Sonoma, and which ultimated in the termina-
tion of Spanish rule on this coast, there seems
to have existed an anomalous condition of attairs
in California. Under the old Spanish rule, the
San Franciscan friars had been granted liberal
privileges, and with indomitable energy and zeal
had extended their missions coastwise from San
Diego to the center of the Territory. ,\s the
honey bee is said to be tlic forerunnei- of civili-
zation, so too, Mexican immigration seems to
have followed with sleepy stops the paths made
safe iiy the mori^ detci-mincl ['adres. These
UI8T0KT OP SONOMA COUNTY.
missions, whether or not they filled the full
measure of expectations in the civilizing and
Christianizing of the aborigines of California,
certainly paved the way for the advance of a
higher order of civilization. These ecclesiastical
institutions, under the exclusive dominion of cul-
tured ])riest3 of Castilian nativity, were con-
ducted with a strict regard to system and
business methods little understood by the im-
migrants from Mexico who followed in their
wake. Rich in herds and with granaries well
stored with cereals, these missions became pur-
veyors to the advancing colonists, as well as the
army of soldiers sent hither by the Mexican
Government. In this thrift of the missions,
their seeming strength, lurked the concealed
danger that ultimated in their doom. As slow
as had been the progress of Spanish coloniza-
tion, yet in 1821, when Mexico threw off the
Castilian yoke, a liberal share of California's
population were natives of the Territory. The
better class had received the advantages of as
liberal culture as the parochial schools of the
missions afforded, and, naturally enough, began
to assert themselves as factors in the political
affairs of the Territory. Mexican independence
achieved, those here, natives of Spain became
the subjects of suspicion and surveillance; and
in this class was embraced all the mission
priests, who certainly laid themselves open to
watchfulness by stubbornly refusing to take any
oath of allegiance to the newly fledged Repub-
lic of Mexico. In setting in motion the new
machinery of Territorial Government, as ad-
ministered from the City of Mexico, there came
to the surface yet another disturbing agency,
that gained force with the advancing years, and
that was a growing animosity between those
native of California and those sent hither by the
^lexican Government to fill either civil or mili-
tary positions. AYith that superciliousness not
uncommon to those who have basked in the
sunshine of a higher and more refined civiliza-
tion, the Mexicans sent hither to fill positions
of honor and emolument, evinced a contemptu-
ous regard for those whose educational advan-
tages and social opportunities had been confined
to the circumscribed limits of mission and
pueblo. This naturally met with the resent-
ment at the hands of the " native sons " that it
merited. This simply shadows forth existing
conditions in California twenty years anterior
to the commencement of American rule, and
may be epitomized thus: The mission padres
intuitively realized that republican govern-
ment was the beginning of the end of the life-
work to which they had consecrated the best
years of their existence. The Government of
Mexico, with an empty treasury, had already
set lustful eyes upon the wealth of these mis-
sions, the accumulations of years of depriva-
tion, toil and danger, and as hush-money to
conscience was willing to devote a share of the
loot to the aid of colonization in California.
The governing classes of the Territory were not
averse to this confiscation of mission wealth,
for they had already become used to exacting
from the padres a liberal share of their sup-
port — and then the fact that the Padres were
natives of Spain was sufficient to sanctify the
rigorous end contemplated. And, finally, the
native Mexicans had a contempt for native Cali-
fornians and the latter had a very warm hatred
for the former — in truth, everybody appears to
have been jealous and suspicious of everybody
else. A sorry beginning for experiment of re-
publican government, certainly I And to add
to the seething of this kettle of broth, within
the decade following Mexican independence
there began to straggle into the Territory, over
the crest of the Sierras, the hated Americans;
more dreaded than the denizens from the frigid
north who had so unceremoniously established
themselves at Fort Ross. It was a rather cheer-
less prospect, this, for a Territorial government
that was constantly receiving floridly written
orders from the parent government to guard
every avenue of entrance to the Territory against
the encroachments of foreigners, with no seem-
ing thought or attempt to satisfy the cravings
of an empty, Territorial, military exchequer.
These fulminations from the ancient city of the
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
Aztecs, that were usually months in reaching
tlie C!alit'urnia government at Monterey, are
only useful now to siiow how dense was the
ignorance then in reference to the extent and
t()pogra[)hy of California. AVhy, a thousand
American colonists might have entered the
mirtlicrn end of the Territory and sown and
gathei-ed a cmp witliont the Governor of Cali-
fornia knowing anything al)Out it. As the
years came and went the Territorial authorities
were more and more brought to a realization of
the fact that the snow-capped Nevadas could not
1)0 accounted a safe wall of protection against
invasion from the P^ast. With but a few forts
scattered from San Diego to San Francisco, and
they garrisoned by soldiers numerically few, and
they, proverbially on the ragged edge of revolt
on account of arrearages of pay, it is not a mat-
ter of wonder that California became tlie poach-
ing ground of hunters, trappers and all kinds of
adventurers. The drift of such was naturally
toward the northern end of the Territory. Tliis,
together with a view of circumscribing as much
as possible the occuj)ation by the Russians, evi-
dently hastened the inauguration of military
authority on the north side of the bay. While
this must be accounted a very important event
in writing up the annals of Sonoma County, it
should not 1)0 allowed to overshadow the fact
that, as had been usual in California, the cross
had long jireceded the sword- -in truth, right
here met, and were planted in Sonoma County
soil, the cross of the Catholic church, thus far
north on the circuit of its mission from Home,
and the triune cross of the (ireek church, re-
lating back to the Czar of Russia, and thus far
southward on its mission of pointing weary,
earth-laden humanity to the haven of peace
and rest above. In future chapters will be
found, as nearly as possible, in chronological
order, all mattersof im|)ortauce relating to Cali-
fornia, and to Sonoma County, particularly,
from the time that civilized man first visited it,
down to the ])resent time.
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
A (dHAPTBI? of (dBNTURIES. .
'Sy ®9'®'^^fe ^»»»«^^*^^^^^^^^
CHAPTER I.
CAr.IKORNIA DISCOVERED IN 1542 BV JlAN RoDRIG LEZ CaBRII.M) ORK.IX OF THK XAME SlE
Francis Drake in 1579 — the wonderful things he saw in Marin County — Montekev
v>ky discovered by viscaino in 1g03 a complete blank in history for a period of
160 YEARS THE SaN FrANOISCAN FrIAES PLANT THE CROSS AT SaN DiEGO, J UNE 11, 1769
IN July, 1769, a party start overland for San Diego to establish a mission at Mon-
terey — failing to recognize Monterey they continued on north, and on the 2d of
November discovered the Bay of San Francisco — Monterey was founded, a mission
established; and from there in 1772 ax expedition started to explore the Bay oi-
San Francisco — following around the eastern shore of the bay, on the 27th of March
THEY CAME TO SaN PaIJLO BaY, AND DOUBTLESS HAD A VIEW OF SoNOMA CoUXTV HILLS AND
MOUNTAINS — IN 1775 San Fraxcisco Bay was explored by water — IN 1776 a presidio
AND MISSION was ESTABLISHED AT SaN FrANCISCO THE Y'EAR PREVIOUS BoDEGA BaY HAD
BEEN DISCOVERED ON SEPTEMBER 23, 1776, AN EXPLORATION IN BOATS TOOK PLACE AND AN
ESTUARY- OF SaN PaBLO BaY WAS NAVIGATED TO ITS HEAD — DOUBTLESS PeTALUMA CrEEK
— California weak and defenseless — the century ends and no settlement north of
Yerba Buena.
fHERE is nothing more attractive to the
general reader, and more especially those
in early life, than thrilling narrative of
danger and adventure in the exploration and settle-
ment of frontier territories. A desire to placate
this somewhat morbid desire for sensational read
ingsays a very great temptation in tlie way of the
historian to draw somewhat upon his imagina-
tion for his facts. However palatable tliis might
be to the reader of the present, it would be a
fraud upon coming generations, who will have
a riglit to expect at the hand of the historian sub-
stantial accuracy in the recital of historical
events to be handed down to tliein. With this
conception of what should be the highest aim
of history, we turn to trace the first rays of
civilization cast upon territory, now within the
confines of Sonoma County. This necessitates
a review of the early discovery and final settle-
ment of California by the Spaniards.
Of course tliere is great obscurity, and con-
sequent contiicting opinions among historians
relative to who was the actual discovei-er of
California, and from whence the derivation of
the name. The weight of the best authority,
however, confers upon Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo,
a Portuguese navigator in tlie Spanish service,
the honor of liaving first visited the waters of
our golden shores and set foot upon California
soil. Cabrillo had under liis command two
Spanish exploring vessels, and there seems little
doubt that on the 28th of September, 1642, an-
HISTORY OP SONOMA COUNT T.
cliorage was reached in what is now San Diego
liarbor, althongli the name tlien given was
'• San Mignel."
Tlie date of discovery, tlms disposed of, tlie
next consideration is as to the probable origin
of the name, California. Upon this point there
is even a wider di\ergence of opinion among
writers than as to who was the discoverer of
the country. Upon this subject Hubert Ilowe
Bancroft, who is in a position to arrive at as
accurate conclusions on disputed historic points
as any living man, says: "The name was ap-
plied between 1535 and 153U to a locality. It
was soon extended to the whole adjoining re-
gion ; and as the region was supposed to be a
group of islands, the name was often given in
plural form, ' Las Californias.' " Whence came
the name thus applied, or applied by C(')rtez
as has been erroneously believed, was a ques-
tion that gave rise to much conjecture before
the truth was known. The Jesuit missionaries
as represented by Venegas and Clavigero, sug-
gested that it might have been deliberately
made up from Latin or Greek roots; but favored
the much more reasonable theory that the dis-
coverers had founded the name on some mis-
understood words of the natives. These theories
have been often repeated by later wi'iters, with
additions rivalling each other in absurdity. At
last in 1862 Edward E. Ilale was so fortunate
as to discover the source whence the discover-
ers obtained the name. An old romance, the
Serga/< of Esplandian, by Ordonez de Mon-
talvo, translator of Amadh of GauJ, printed
])crhaps in 1510, and certainly in editions of
1519, 1521, 1525 and 152G in Spanish, men-
tioned an island of California, " on the right
hand of the Indies, very near the Terrestrial
Paradise," peopled with black women, gritfins,
and other creatures of the author's imagina-
tion. There is no direct historical evidence of
the aj)plication of this name; nor is any needed.
No intelligent man will ever question the ac-
curacy of Ilale's theory. The number of Span-
ish editions would indicate that the book was
popular at the time of th", discovery; indeed
Eernal Diaz often mentions the Amadis of
Gaul to which the esj>landi(ni was attached."
This seems to set at rest definitely and forever
the question of the origin of the name Cali-
fornia.
lieverling to Cabrillo's discovery of this
coast, it only remains to say that that intrepid
mariner died on one of the islands off from the
Santa Barbara coast supposed to be San Miguel,
from the effects of a broken arm, on the 3d of
January, 1543, and there rests in an unmarked
grave. Theie were other visitors to this coast
following its discovery, but of their going and
coming comparatively little is known, until Sir
Francis Drake puts in an appearance, and finds
a harbor, where he enters to make repairs on
his vessel, the Golden Hind, on the 23d of
July, 1579. What harbor was entered by Drake
is yet, and perhaps always will be, a serious
bone of contention among historians. The dis-
putants are about equally divided between the
Bay of San Francis^co, Drake's Bay (so called)
in Marin County, and Bodega Bay in Sonoma
County. Hubert Ilowe Bancrolt, in his recently
published history of California, seems to be in
some donbt himself, but as he evidently con-
siders Drake a prince of prevaricators, he gives
him the benefit of the donbt, and signifies his
belief that the harbor now called Drake's Bay
was his by right of discovery. But this is of
small moment now, for all the records of Drake's
visit to the coast are so extravagant and dis-
torted that the conferring of his name upon an
indentation in thecoast even as small as that just
below Point Ileyes was more than he merited.
In order that tiie reader ma}' judge for him
self in reference to the degree of importance
to be attached to Drake's statements, we give a
sample of what was described as having occurred
at the harbor where his vessel was being re-
paired.
" The arrival of the English in California
being soon known throughout the country, two
persons in the character of embassadors, came
to the Admiral and informed iiim, in the best
manner they were alile, that the King would
UISrOUY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
assist him if he might be assured of coming in
safety. Being satisfied on this point, a numer-
ous company soon appeared, in front of wliich
was a very comely person bearing a kind of
scepter, on whicli hung two crowns and three
cliains of great lengtii; the cliains were of
bones and tiie crowns of net-work curiously
wrought with feathers of many colors. Next
to the scepter-bearer came the King, a hand-
some, majestic person, surrounded by a number
of tall men, dressed in skins, who were fol-
lowed by the common people, who, to make the
grander appearance, had painted their faces of
various colors, and all of them, even the chil-
dren, being loaded with presents. The men
being drawn up in line of battle, the Admiral
stood ready to receive the King within the en-
trance of his tent. The company having halted
at a distance, the scepter- bearer made a speech
half an Iiour long, at the end of which he be-
gan singing and dancing, in which he was fol-
lowed by the King and all his people — who,
continuing to sing and dance, came quite up
to the tent; when, sitting down, the King tak-
ing off" his crown of feathers, placed it on the
Admiral's head, and put upon him the other
insignia of royalty; and made liim a solemn
tender of his whole kingdom. All of which
the Admiral accepted in the name of the
Queen, his sovereign, in hope these pi'oceed-
ings might one time or other contribute to
the advantage of England.'"
This dish of taff"y secured for Drake knight-
hood at the hands of Queen Elizabeth, who, in
conferring the title, said " that his actions did
him more honor than his title.*' And all this
is reputed to have transpired close by Sonoma
County over three hundred years ago.
The only definite discovery of real merit after
that of t'abrillo, was the discovery of Monterey
Bay by Yiscaino in 1603. Thenceforward for
a period of 100 years, so far as relates to civil-
ization, complete silence brooded over what is
now called California. No doubt during those
long years the aborigines were filled with won-
der and conjecture as to what had become of
the bearded, white strangers, who in big canoes
propelled by wind had come and gone for the
period of a generation. As common as was great
longevity of life to those untutored children of
nature, the e^'cs that had beheld either Cabrillo
or Vizcaino had long been closed in death be-
fore that eventful morning of April 11, 17G9,
when Juan Perez brought the San Antonio to
anchor in the l>ay of San Diego. On board of
this vessel were two Franciscan friars, Juan
Viscaino and Francisco Gomez, with all the
necessary church appurtenances necessary for
the establishing of two missions. Aside from
the crew there were a few carjjenters and black-
smiths, together with a cargo of miscellaneous
supplies. The Indians were friendly, and still
had a traditional knowledge of the former visit-
ors to this coast. In addition to those who took
jjassage on the San Antonio, others to the
number of over one hundred, and among them
Father Junipero Serra, started overland from
lower California. They reached San Diego on
the first of July. It required some time for
needed preparation, and on Sunday, the 16th of
July, with all the ceremonies common to such
occasions, Father Serra blessed and planted the
cross, around which was to cluster memories of
the first permanent establishment of civilization
in California.
We have neither time and space, nor does it
come within the scope of this county history,
to enter into a minute detail of the struggles
and vicissitudes which followed the line of the
establishing of missions, and the slow' march of
civil government up the California coast. Our
object will have been accomplished when we
have made complete the chain of Spanish occu-
pancy from the founding of the first mission,
San Diego de Alcala, at San Diego, down to the
founding of the last mission San Francisco
Solano, at Sonoma.
On July 14, 1769, Tartola, with sixty men,
including fathers Juan Crespi and Francisco
Gomez, started from San Diego for the purpose
of founding a mission at Monterey. Tiieir
wanderings were l)y devious and sometimes
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
rugged trails, as they deemed it necessary to
keep near tlie coast in order not to miss the
liaven of their destination. But mountains
insnrnionntable'drove tlieni to lower levels, and
they seem to iiave coine down the Salinas Val-
ley and reached Monterey Bay just ojiposite the
present town of Castroville. Lo(jking at the
bay from the land, they failed to recognize it
as the object of their search. The pine point,
where is now Pacific Grove Ketreat, served to
till the description of the navigator who had
tlescribed Monterey Bay, but after exploring it
by land as far south as Carniello they concluded
that the bay tiiey were looking for lay further
to the north; and, acting upon this decision,
they resumed their inarch.
As unfortunate as was this mistake to those
weary, foot-sore pilgrims, tliey had the compen-
sating honor of making a discovery of more
importance to the world than the short delay
in fonnding a mission at Monterey, for on the
2d of JSovember they discovered the great Bay
of San Francisco, destined to become one among
the most consequential harbors in the world.
But their orders were to found a mission at
Monterey, and like good Catholics the^' wei-e
obedient to the mandate given them; and being
now convinced that that bay was the one lying
under the shadow of Point Pinos, already vis-
ited by them, they set out on their return jour-
ney, and ou the 28th of November again reached
Monterey, and passing over the hills to Car-
mello Bay, they pitched camp and remained
until the 10th of December, taking a general
survey of the surrounding country. Grass was
now abundant for their animals, but game
and even iish were scarce. A mule was killed,
and its flesh, together with that of the sea-gulls,
was used to husband the flour that was already
reduced to fourteen small sacks. At a council
held it was decided to retrace their steps to
San Diego. On an eminence, probably near where
now stands the old San Carlos Mission, a cross
was planted, at the foot of which was buried a
document giving a brief sketch of the jouriiey-
inifs and discoveries of Partola and his com-
pany. On the 11th they started southward
following the general road np which they had
come, and without any serious mishap or ad-
venture reached San Diego on January 24, 1770.
While this expedition failed in the accomplish-
ment of the object, for which it had been in-
augurated, it is certainly entitled to precedence
in the very fnjnt rank of all e.xplorations ever
undertaken by the Spaniards in California. It
must be borne in mind that the years of over
a century and a half had run their course since
keel had furrowed the Bay of San Diego, at
the time the San Antonio with the missionaries
landed there in the spring of 1769. It was
only three months after the effecting of this foot-
hold to civilization on this coast, and two days
before the formal inauguration of the mission
at San Diego, that Partola and his pilgrims
started forth for a journey of several hundred
miles, through the wilds of California. They
were like a rudderless vessel at sea, without
chart or compass, save that on their left they
knew that the waves of the broad Pacific were
ceaseless in their throbbing pulsations along
California's shore. Of the interior they knew
nothing. They had every reason to believe that
it was populous with barbarians; and yet with
all these dangers staring them in the face they
went forth and achieved the results already nar-
rated. To erect a monument to the memory
of the members of that expedition would be
useless; for more enduring than marble or
granite shaft is the Bay of San Francisco, which
they discovered.
If we may be permitted the e.xpression, the
happy mistake of Partola and his fellow ex-
plorers had added the Bay of San Francisco to the
geography of the world. It now seems inex-
plicable why it was not at once made the center
from which radiated other Spanish occupancies of
the coast. But it must be remembered that
California belonged to Mexico, and Mexico be-
longed to Spain. It can well be understood
that orders and mandates transmitted through
the course of so circuitous a route, and so ham-
pered by all the formalities of red tape, so dear
niSTOUY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
to Spanisli officials, were very old, and some-
times of impossible fulfillment when they
reached this coast. And to still more compli-
cate matters there seems to have been little
nnity of feeling and action between the Padres
who were alone intent upon founding missions
for the Cliristianization of barbarians, and the
military who were looking to colonization as the
ultimate means of establishing permanent civil
government on this coast. In a double sense,
it was a " house divided against itself." The
bonds of sympathy that had united Spain and
Mexico were becoming strained; and there was
a growing estrangement between civil and
church polity in California which plainly indi-
cated that the twain could not move harmoni-
ously forward upon parallel lines in the same
field. Either left to a free territory, would have
acquired vigor and strength from the very diffi-
culties to be surmounted; but occupying a
common field and aiming at cross purposes was
productive of enervation and inaction. The
Padres, at first only seemingly fired by an hon-
est zeal in behalf of the spiritual welfare of be-
nighted luunanity, were not proof against the
cravings for wealth and dominancy when their
llocks and herds began to be numbered by the
thousands, and they naturally became obstruc-
tionists to the large acquirement of lands by
those who came as colonists to seek homes in
this land of productive soil and genial clime.
While missions were being founded at incon-
sequential places along the coast, and inland, to
the southward, the waters of the Pacific contin-
tinued to silently ebb and flow through the
great Golden Gate. Three years had run their
course since Partola and his adventurous ex-
plorers had set foot on the sand dunes skirting
the Pay of San Francisco, before further at-
tempt was made at exploration to the north.
And as strange as it niay seem, it was a San
Francisco bay under the lea of Point Reyes
that was yet the objective point by the Padres
who wished to found a mission that would do
suitable honor to San Francisco, their patron
saint. With this dominant idea still in view.
on March 20, 1772, Commandante Fajes, with
Crespi, twelve soldiers, a muleteer, and an In-
dian, left Monterey for the north. The Partola
expedition had settled the matter that the San
Francisco bay of which they were in search
could not be reached by a land expedition
around the west side of the inland sea they had
encountered. Hence Fajes and his party de-
termined to pass around it to the east. In this
attempt they discovered San Pablo Pay on or
about the 27th of March, 1772. And right
then and there is probably the first time that
the eyes of civilized man had a view of the hills
and mountains now compassed within tiie
bounds of Sonoma County. They passed upon
the south shore of Canjuinez Straits, and on-
ward to the junction of tlie Sacramento and
San Joaquin rivers; then, turning southward
passed east of Mount Diablo, going across the
mountains, striking the trail up which they had
traveled somewhere in Santa Clara Valley; and
thence continued on their way back to Monte-
rey. Considering the number of men, this was
among the most notable expeditions on i-ecoi'd.
Old Spain, with a seemingly more intelligent
appreciation of the importance of this newly
discovered harbor to her possessions on the
Pacific coast than had either the Mexican or
California authorities, became very importunate
to have it speedily occupied. Orders were
cheap, but the available means and colonists
were not so readily obtainable. I'nt Lieutenant
Agala set out with an expedition from Monte-
rey, on the San Carlos, and entered the harbor
of San Francisco on the first day of August,
1775. He spent over forty days in explorations
of the harbor, but neither the map nor diary
of this survey is preserved. Several of the
officers landed several times on the iu)rthern
shore of the bay, and mention is made that
Canizares was sent to explore the noi'tliern
branch of the " round bay " (San Pablo), going
up to fresh-water rivers, and bartering beads for
fish with many friendly natives. They may
possibly have navigated Petahima Creek, but
this is uncerhiin.
HISTORY OF aONOMA COUNTY.
' The year following, on SepteiriLer 17tii, under
the direction of Comniandante Moraga, the
presidio of San Francisco was duly inaugurated
amid the firing of cannons, ringing of bells and
all the formalities usual to typify absolnte
Spanish possession. The San Carlos had just
arrived, and Captain Quiros, Canizares and Re-
ville, master and mate, participated in the lay-
ing of the corner-stone of this the future
metropolis of the Pacific coast. Something
over one hundred persons were present on that
occasion. Rij^ht then and there it became a
fi.xed finality that civilization held the keys to
the Golden Gate to the Pacific coast. In order
to punctuate this so as to rivet the attention of
the reader,- we borrow the language of a writer
in the Overland Monthly who says: "On that
same 17th of September, on the other side of the
continent, Lord Howe's Hessian and British
troops were revelling in the city of New York."
We might supplement this with the observation
that if it took from 1776 to 1823 for Spanish
occupation to extend its lines from San Fran-
cisco to Sonoma, it should somewhat break the
force of carping criticism in reference to the
time consumed by Moses aiul the children of
Israel in their emigration from Egypt up to
the land of Canaan. But in this we anticipate
history.
On the 23d of September, Quiros, Canizares
atid Cambon took the ship's boat and went on a
voyage of discovery up the bay. The year
])revious, on the 3d of October, Bodega y Ca-
dra, in the schooner Sonora., had entered the
bay named at the time Bodegfl. The parties
who started out on this exp)loration of the bay
from the ])rcsidio of what is now San Francisco,
was imbued with the idea prevalent then that
there was a strait connecting that bay with
Bodega. It was but natural that they should
seek a satisfactory solution of this question.
They started on the 23d of September and re-
turned on the 29th. Mr. Bancroft, in speaking
of Quiros and this expedition, says: "Although
prevented from e.xploring the great river, he
was able to settle another disputed (piestiou.
and proved that the 'round bay' (San Pablo),
had no connection with Bodega; for, sailing in
that direction, he had discovered a new estuary
and followed it to its head, finding no passage
to the sea, and beholding a lofty sierra which
stretched toward the west aiuI ended, as Quiros
thought, at Cape Mendocino. This was proba-/
bly the first voyage of Europeans up the wind-
ings of Petaluma Creek." And thus it is
probable that contemporaneous with the date of
our declaration ot national independence on the
Atlantic side, Quiros and his companions vis-
ited the very site upon which Petaluma now
stands.
The next mention we find that has any con
nection, either near or remote, with Sonoma
County, is the visit of Captain George Van-
couver to this coast in 1792. It will be remem-
bered that Drake, in his very florid recital of
what had occurred on his visit to this coast, had
accepted from the " King " everything far and
near as a generous gift to his Queen, and in
consideration of the striking resemblance of
the sand dunes around Point Reyes to the
chalky sea bluffs of Great Britain had named
his newly -discovered country " New Albion."
Vancouver seems to have had faith in the
Drake fiction, and with true Briton stubborn-
ness persisted in applying the name New
Albion to this coast as far south as San Diego.
While his mission was ostensibly one of
scientific research and observation, it evidently
excited distrust of English designs in the mind
of Governor Arrillaga. Vancouver had arrived
at San Francisco, Governor Arrillaga being at
Monterey, the capital. Unwittingly the C!om-
mandanto of San Francisco, in genuine Spanish
hospitality, had not only given Vancouver a
hospitable reception, but had furnished him an
escort of soldiers to guard him on a snrt of
picnic into the interior, as far iidand as the
mission of Santa Clara. For tliis indiscretion
Commandante Sal received a not unmerited
reprimand from Arrillaga; for Vancouver in
his report of this visit shows that he took in
the whole situation; that Spain, with a few rusty
HI8T0RT OF SONOMA COUNTY.
(•aiiiKins and scarcely soldiers enough to man
thein, was lioldinir peaceable possession of
California.
The story of British vessels hovering along
the Pacific coast of course was transmitted to
both Mexico and Spain, eliciting the usual in-
junction to the Governor of (,'alifornia to keep
all foreign vessels from landing in Pacific coast
harbors. How such orders could be enforced
when there were not more cannon at the San
Francisco Presidio than there are fingers to a
human hand (and at some of the sea coast mis-
sions the two or three cannon possessed were
not even mounted), it is difficult to understand.
Ibit the mainsprii g to all authority in Califor-
nia had evidently reached the conclusion that
something heroic must be done. The whole
story is told by Hubert Howe Bancroft in the
following extract:
•'Together with his order reijuiring precau-
tions against the English and other foreigners
with a special view of keeping Spanish weak-
ness from their knowledge, and subsequently,
tlie viceroy fmnounced his intention of remedy-
ing that weakness by strengthening the four
presidios and by the immediate occupation of
Bodega. Tlie 16th of J uly Arrillaga sent in a
report on the state and needs of Californian de-
fenses. A^ancouver, nnwisely permitted to in-
vestigate, had been surprised to find California
so inadequately protected, and the Spaniards
seem to have realized the utter insufficiency of
their coast defenses at about the same time; but
nothing was accomplished in 171*3 l)eyond an
unsuccessful attempt to occupy Bodega Port.
Tills Bodega scheme and the whole project of
strengthening the California defense were de-
vised by Viceroy Revilla Giedo, and urged most
ably in his report of April 12, 1793, a docu-
ment which covers the whole northern question
from a Spanish standpoint, and although little
consulted by modern writers, is a most important
authority.
'•After giving a complete history of his sub-
ject the distinguished author argues that dis-
tant and costly outposts in the north are not
desirable for Spain; and attention should be
given exclusively to the preservation and utili-
zation of tiie establishments now existing in
California, and to prevent the too near appi'oach
of any foreign power. To this end Bodega
should be held, and the English plan of making
a boundary of San Francisco Bay be thus de-
feated. Probably this one measnre may suffice
in the north; Nootka may be given up, and
Fnca, and also the Entrada de Heceta, or Co-
lumbia River, unless it should prove to aft'ord a
passage to the Atlantic or to New Mexico. * *
" Because of its supposed excellence as a har-
bor, and because of its vicinity to San Francisco,
making its occupation by England equivalent to
an occupation of that harijor for purposes of
contraband trade, it was decided to found a
Spanish settlement at Bodega. Moreover, there
were rumors that foreigners were already taking
steps in that direction. To this end, the 10th of
February the viceroy announced the giving of
orders to the commandante at San Bias to des-
patch a schooner and long-boat for the service,
and Arrillaga was directed to go to San Francisco
to meet the vessels. He gave orders the 20th of
March to have a road opened from San Francisco
across to Bodega. These instructions came up
on the Acanzaza, which arrived at San Francisco
on the 24:th of July. Arrillaga obtained boats
from the vessels, set across some thirty liorses,
and on the 5th of August Lieutenant Goycolchea,
with a sergeant and ten men, set out to open
the road and to meet at Bodega. Matute, who
with the Sutil and Me.cleana had probably been
sent direct to that port from San Bias. Unfor-
tunately 1 have not found Goycolchea's diary
which was sent to Mexico, and we know abso-
lutely nothing of either the exploration by sea
or land, save that Matute returned to San Fran-
cisco on August 12th, and five days later Arril-
laga informs the viceroy that the occupation of
Bodega is put off for this year. The postpone-
ment proved to be a permanent one, for some
unexplained cause, and the ten soldiers and five
mechanics with some stores intended for Bodega
were retained by Sal at San Francisco."
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
So nearly came Sonoma County to civilized
occupancy before the commencement of the cur-
rent century. The only other, ami more defi-
nite statement, of Spanish visitation to territory
now within Sonoma County jurisdiction during
the early years of this century, is that in Sej)-
tember of 1810. Moraga, a Spanish officer,
visited l)odega, '■ discovering and exploring to
some extent a fertile valley in that region, to
whicli, however, lie gave no name."
Thus, in a hurried way, have we followed the
fortunes of the Catholic cross northward from
San Diego until it wtis securely planted at
Lone Mountain. Over a third of a century had
been marked on the dial of time, and yet that
emblem of Cliristianity was yet nnplanted on
the northern side of the Ijay. The tloci<s and
herds of the nineteen established missions had
increased until their numbers were pressing upon
the utmost limits of pasture supply. The opu
lence of the Padres, taken in conjunction with
the fact that they were being made largely to
bear the burthen of civil and military govern-
ment, seemed to have somewhat dampened their
ardor in mission work; at least so far as related
to venturing uut into new and unexplored fields.
Here, for the pi-esent, we place a perioil to
Spanish occupation, and turn to hyperliDrean
latitudes to note the southward coming of the
Greek triune cross. Before the close of our
next chapter these emblems of two mighty
churches, one being carried northward and the
other southward, will have met and been planted
within the limits of Sonoma County.
HTSTORT OF SONOMA COUNTY.
*^^'^f^
CHAPTER II.
The IIussian-Amkuican Frii Company — Razanof, its head JtANAUEii, visits San Franiisco in
1805 — EETriixs TO Alaska with a cakcii) hf whicat — nsiiiNci for sea ottkr along the
COAST becomes common THE MA(;Nn'lI>E OF THE lilSINKSS IN 1809, KuSKOF, AN OFFICER
OF THE Alaska Fir Company, anchorkd in TIodioua Bav, anii with a lak(;e numiser of
Aleut fishkumen who>[ he p,Ror(iHT ■\vrrii him, spent ekmit months fishixo and explor-
ing — IN Isll THE Russians came hack to Bodega with an outfit to found a settle-
ment — thev establish Fort Ross — were the first to estap.lish a permanent settlement
IN Sonoma County — the California authorities object, but the Russians stay — they
MAKE extensive IMPROVEMENTS; PLANT ORCHARDS AND RAISE GRAIN WHAT THE FRENCHMAN,
Duiiaut Cilly, said OF Ross in 1828 — what varied occupations t.ie Russians followed
THEV r.UILT SEVERAL VESSELS lioSS A liUSY BEE-HIVE oF INDUSTRY.
1 1 1 1 jE Spain was alwaj'S in a state of nn-
rest coast possessions, slie was not
bronglit face to in regard to the security
of her Pacific face witli any real danger until in
the first decade of the present century, At first it
was England and France toward which lier appre-
hensions were directed, with an occasional spasm
of suspicion that the United States had a lust-
ful desire for expansion in this direction. Of
course Spain was having spats and wars witli
other European powers, and tlie people of Cal-
ifornia, when informed as to the government
with which Spain for tiie time being was em-
broiled, naturally felt uneasy when a vessel
carrying the flag of such government was seen
liovering along the California coast.
The possessions of Russia up north had been
turned to account and were then under the
dominion of the Russian-American Fur Com-
pany. As Russia and Spain were then as near
at peace as was coinpatible with nations always
in armed expectancy of war, no serious danger
to California seemed to be apprehended from
that source. Rut there were causes at work
that turned tiie attention of Alaska authorities
southward. The provision supplies they were
dependent on from Russia, on account of ad-
verse winds and other unavoidable causes, did
not always reach tliem in season, and as a result,
several times the gaunt wolf Famine stalked in
their midst. Hunger knows no law, and in its
presence the amenities usually observable be-
tween nations at peace, are liable to be set at
naught. In 1805 the newly appointed Russian
Chamberlain, NicholiPetrovich Razanof, reached
Sitka at a time wiien the inhabitants were in
sore distress for food supplies. lie had a ves-
sel laden with such articles as bethought would
be needed by the presidios and missions of
California and came down to San Francisco.
IIISTORT OF SONOMA COUNTY.
Kazanof was too great a diplomat to let the
Spaniards know the real-condition of att'airs at
Alaska. He had to feel his way carefully, for
the authorities were under injunctions to en-
courage no trade with foreign vessels. The
missions had plenty of wlieat, just what he most
coveted, and he had many articles of utility and
ornament that the Californians needed and
wanted. To make a long story short, Kazanof
returned to Alaska with liis vessel well stowed
with wheat. And more than this, it did not
escape his keen eyes that the whcjle coast
north of San Francisco was lying idle and un-
productive. And another thing he did not fail
to observe was that the waters abounded with
sea otter. This same thing seems to have
been taken in by the lynx-eyed Yankees even
before Itazanof visited this coast, for we find it
recorded that in 1803-'4 Captain Joseph O'Cain,
in the American vessel (TC'aiii, made a sea
otter j)oacliing expedition along the coast, going
certainly as far south as San Diego, and being
rewarded with a take of 1,100 otter-skins.
Arrillaga had been appointed Governor of Cal-
ifornia, and on his arrival at Monterey, the cap-
ital, in 1806, one of his tirst pronunciamentos
was a determination to put an end to illicit
and contraband trade. lie expressed liimself
cognizant of the fact that instructions from the
head government had been, if not entirely
evaded, at least loosely obeyed, and that he
should not connive at such flagrant abuses. His
intentions were doubtless honest, but then,
humanity is fallible ! Thenceforward there
were always vessels hovering along the coast,
and it seemed remarkable how often they run
out of water, or provisions, or had to make some
needed repairs, and found excuses for anchoring
for a time near some coast mission. The (iov-
ernor of California and his handful of military
could froth and fume as much as they pleased,
but then what could they do about it 'i While
these coast poachers in Spanish waters may not
have direct connection with Sonoma (J(jnnty
history, yet their meanderings were all con-
verging toward IJodcgii Bay and tlic ultiiiiate
occupation of the country from that point north-
ward by the Russians. In truth, the only way
to convey to the readers an intelligent concep-
tion why the Russians made this long skip from
Alaska to Ross, is by taking into account the
wealth offered by the sea as well as the pro-
ductiveness of the shore. In 1806 Captain
Jonathan Winship, in the American vessel
CrCdin, with his brother Nathan as mate, made
a seaotter expedition on this coast. They were
acting under the auspices of the Russian-Amer-
ican Fur Company, and were accompanied by
northern Indians and canoes to do the lishing.
The Farallone Islands were found a fruitful
field of operation. In September uf that year
Captain Winship returned to Alaska with 5,000
otter-skins. In October of 1806 Captain Camp-
bell, another American under contract with the
Alaska Fur Company, and accompanied by
Aleut tishermen with twelve bidaskes (tishing
boats), passed a season on this coast and re-
turned to Alaska in August of 1807 with 1,230
otter-skins. In 1807 Captain Winship was
back to the coast again accompanied by fifty
native hunters from Alaska, and his objective
point seems to have been the Farallone Islands.
How great was his success may he known from
the fact that he i-etnrned north in April. Sev-
eral other vessels are mentioned as having
fished along the coast, and in every instance
they are reported to have made a profital)le
catch of sea-otter. Although outside of the
chronological order of occurrences to be re-
corded in this history we, in order to make
clear the magnitude of the sea-otter fisheries
along this coast, (piote the following from
Hubert Howe Bancroft's History of California:
" On April 1, 1811, the Albatross sailed for the
north, leaving the O'Cain to look after atfairs
on the lower coast, andreturnedto the Farallones
to leave supplies. Then she went to Drake Bay.
where she was joined by the (/Cain, and Isabel
on the 11th of May. Here the two vessels re-
mained a month, often communicating with
the different gangs of hunters l)y means of
boats. In .June the AUj((tri)Ss went south
HTSTORT OF SONOMA COUNTY.
again and was occupied in picking up for tinal
departure the luinters and the product of their
labors for l)oth ships; and on the I'Jtli she sailed
for the north, arriving at the Russian settle-
ments in August. After repairing the ship and
discharging his Indians, Winship returned
down the coast and anchored on the 27th of
September at tiie South Farallones. The 2d of
October, taking on board all the hunters, except
Rrown with seven Kanakas, the Albatross
sailed for the Islands, so loaded with furs that
some water-casks had to be broken up and the
hemp cables carried on deck." Ky reference to
a note in the work above quoted from, we tind
that the Alhatross, for the seasons of 1810
and 1811 took 74,526 fur seal skins, of which
73,402 were taken at the P'arallones. Besides
these there is enumerated among the pelts 248
beaver, 21 raccoon, 6 wild-cat, 153 land-otter.
4 badger, 5 fox, 58 mink, 8 gray squirrel. 1
skunk, 11 muskrat and 137 mole skins. The
estimated value of this cargo of furs at Canton,
China, was .$157,397. A Captain Smith is re-
puted to have visited the Farallones in 1808
accompanied by a band of Kadiac Indians and
quite a Heet of bidaskes, remaining two years
and departing with 130.000 seal, beside many
otter skins. Alvarado is the anthority for the
statement that there were months when 2,500
sking, worth $90 each, were exported. In
order not to speak hap-hazard upon this subject
we interviewed General AI. G. Vallejo, par-
ticularly in reference to the subject of sea-otter
(»n this coast, and we have it from his own lips
that the Bay of San Francisco and all the bays
and estuaries along tlie coast were swarming
with them in the early decades of the century.
But we return to the year 1809. That year
was made memorable to Sonoma County from
the fact that on .the 8th of January Kiiskof, an
officer of the Russian Fur Company on the
Kadiac. I'etrof master, entered Bodega Bay and
remained there continuously until the 29th of
August. It seems to have been a mission of
observation, exploration and fishing combined.
Friendly relations with the Indians of the sur-
rounding country were established and a few
temporary habitations erected. While we sliall
always, in referring to this bay designate it
Bodega Bay. the reader should be apprized
that the Russians called it " Roumiantzof Bay.'"
Through tlie natives Governor Arrillaga soon
learned of the presence of a large Russian ves-
sel at Bodega and that the crew had erected
huts on shore. The number of persons given
by the Governor as belonging to the KadUic,
were forty Russians and 150 Indians, including
twenty women. Fifty canoes were reported as
having been crossed over from Huymenes Bay
to Pt. Boneta. And here it is in place to
explain in order that the carrying of these
canoes, called by the Russians '• bidaskes,'" may
the more readily be understood by the reader.
They were constructed with a very light, flex-
ible frame, over which was stretched a sheath-
ing of sealskins so sown together as to render
the seams impervious to water. The hunter
could readily take his boat on his back and
carry it a long distance. The Aleuts were ex-
perts in the handling of these tiny crafts and
did not hesitate to venture quite a distance out
to sea in them.
A stay of over seven mouths at Bodega had
enabled Kuskof to form a very intelligent
opinion as to wliether or not there was any-
thing in that latitude worth the Russian Fur
Company's further attention. He seems to
have reached an affirmative conclusion. As he
took back with him over 2,000 otter-skins as
tangible evidence to the company of the worth
of the field in which he had been tarrying, it
probably did not require much urging on his part
to induce his co-laborers at Alaska to seek a
foothold in this more southern and genial clime.
Referring to this visit of Kuskof to Bodega Bay,
Air. Bancroft says: "The native chiefs were
made friends by the distribution of petty gifts,
and there is not much doubt that they made,
either now or the next year, . some kind of a
formal cession of territory to the new-comers.
The price paid, according to the statement of
the natives in later years, as Payeras tells us,
IIISTORT OF SONOMA COUNTY.
was "three Idaiikets, tliree ))airsof breeches, twu
axes, three hoes, and some heads." It was upon
Russian title derived through this jnunilicent
purchase price paid, that Colonel Muldrcw,
nearly half a century later, gave a great deal
of disquiet to the American settlers all along
the coast from Toniales Bay to Cape Mendocino.
Raranof, the Chamberlain of Alaska, douljtless
acting on instructions from St. Petersburg, took
immediate stejis to found a settlement on the
California coast. To this end, an expedition
was fitted out and placed under the control of
Knskof, who, on the Chirikof v{\i\i all necessary
implements and supplies, left Alaska late in
1811 or early in 1812 for his new field of
operations. Of this expedition l>ancroft sajs:
" There were in the company ninety-five men of
Russian blood, including twenty-five mechanics,
and probably eighty Aleuts in a hunting fleet
of forty bidaskes. The arrival seems to have
been in March or April of 1812, though of
this and immediately succeeding events there
is no detailed record. The Aleuts were sent
out to hunt otter along the coast, apparently
with instructions not to enter San Francisco
Bay, for it was best not to oflfend the Spaniards
just at this time. The Russians prepared
timber for several months. When all was
ready the Aleuts were recalled to aid the me-
chanics, and everybody went to work with a
will on a foi't and other necessary buildings,
and in tlie course of a few months a fortified
village had arisen on the shores of New Albion.
The site, selected probably during the previous
viirit, was some eighteen miles above Hodega
Ray, called by the natives Mad-shui-nui, in
latitude 38° 33', loniritude 123° 15' accordinor
to Russian observations, and the fort with its
ten cannons was erected on a blutt' some
hundred feet or more above the sea. * '^ '■■
All was completed and ready for occupation
early in September. On September 10th, or
August 30th of the Russian calendar, the name-
day of Emperor Alexander, the establishment
was formally dedicated with great festivities
and named Ross, from the root (jf the name
Russia, a name extending far back into an
tifpiity.
From that day dates the permanent occupancy
of Sonoma County by civilized man. Fort Ross
was something more than a mere station for the
rendezvous of a fleet of fishing bidaskes. In a
very few years it had become a manufacturing
community, largely furnishing various kinds of
supplies to the less skilled Spaniards south of
the Bay of San Francisco. Of this we sliall
speak more fully hereafter. Their ccjining to
Ross was most certainly an infringement upon
the territorial rights of Spain. P>ut they
claimed, or pretended to claim, that by right
of discovery made by Sir Francis Drake New
Albion extended south to San Francisco Bay.
The Spaniards on the other hand claimed that
Spanish dciminion extended north to the Straits
of Fuca. Through the natives (for the S|mnish
authorities at San Francisco had as yet made
little atteni])t at exploi-ation north of the bay),
the Spaniards were made aware of the presence
and operations of ihe Russians at Bodega and
Ross. As in duty bound, an envoy was sent
to Ross to learn the objects and aims of the
Muscovites. The information olttained was
duly transmitted by the Comniandante of San
Francisco to the (lovernor at Monterey; and the
governor in turn communicated the information
to the Viceroy of Mexico, and thus it was started
on its course to the ultimate end, the myal
presence in Spain. Back through this tortuous
channel, after a long lapse of time, came the
injunction to the Commandante of San Francisco
that he must have the Russians march on. Just
how he was to enforce this order, with four
rusty cannons, when the fort at Ross bristled
with ten cannons of larger caliber, the King
of Spain did not point out. But ink was
cheaper, and not half as dangerous as powder,
and the result was a wordy correspondence be-
tween the (-Jovernor of California and Knskof.
For several years the communication between
the California authorities and those at Ross
was as slow as the courtship between deaf
mutes, so far as related to the right or wrong
HT8T0RT OF SONOMA COUNTY .
of Russian occupancy here. It could not well
l)e otlienvise. The Governor of CalitbrniH
could oidy act on authority from the Viceroy
at the city of Mexico; and the Viceroy derived
his power from the King of Spain. On the
other hand Kuskof at Fort Ross looked to the
Chamberlain of Alaska for his instructions, and
the Chamberlain took his commands from the
Czar of Russia. And thus it came to pass that
the conflicting interests of two of the miglity
powers of Europe, for a time, centered right
here within our own Sonoina County. While
a i:;reat many orders of a mandatory character,
rei^uiring the Russians at once and immediately
to vacate Ross were duly delivered to Kuskof, as
coming from the Viceroy of ]\[exico, it does
not seem to have disturbed the friendly amenities
tiiat appear to have existed between the Span
iards and Russians here, for they seem to have
done a great deal of bartering in violation of
the revenue laws as intended to be administered
by the Mexican authorities. This trade was
carried on by means of Russian vessels.
Tiie reader can keep in mind that year after
year there was remonstrance made by the
Spanish authorities of California against Rus-
sian occupation at Ross, always accompanied by
the fearful admonition that the Viceroy of Mex-
ico would admit of no further delay in the
matter. Moraga, the tirst to go to Ross to spy
out what the Russians were about, was sent
back to Ross late in 1813, and according to
Spanish account delivered to Ivuskof the ulti-
matum of speed}' departure from this coast;
while Russian record of the same occurrence is,
as Bancroft says: "That Moraga on this second
visit brought witl) him not only twenty cattle
and three horses as a gift, but also the verlial
announcement, as welcome as unexpected, that
Governor Arrillaga had consented to an ex-
change of commodities on condition that pend-
ing the Viceroy's decision, the company's ves-
sels should not enter the ports, but transfer
goods in boats. Accordingly Kuskof at once
despatched his clerk Slobodchikof to San Fran-
cisco with a cargo which, in the manner pre-
scribed, and to t!<e value of $14,000, was
exchanged for bread-stulfs. Trade was thus con-
tinued for some time, but no particulars are
given. That this traffic was allowed, consider-
ing the urgent needs of California, is not
strange; nor is the silence of the Spanish record
to be wondered at, since the trade was illicit.
There is no good reason to doubt the accuracy
of the Russian statement.
That the Russians had come to stay, the lo-
cation selected and the permanency of the im-
provements made, amply attested. While
Bodega Bay, by them called Roumiantzof, was
a desirable harbor so far as ingress and egress
of vessels were concerned, yet it did not seem
to till Kuskof 's conception of strategic strength
for defensive jjurposes. The site selected for
Fort Ross, about eighteen miles north of
Bodega, could hardly be improved on for the
purpose designed. The following pen-picture of
Fort Ross and its surroundings is a translation
from a French book written by Duhant Cilly.
The author spent two or three days at Ross in
1828. This is a very accurate description, and
the more to be prized on account of its having
been written so long ago:
"At eleven o'clock in the morning, June,
1828, we arrived at a colony which the Rus-
sians had named Ross. It is a great square sur-
rounded by a solidly built fence of boards
twenty feet high. This fence is crowned by
large, heavy war implements. On the south
west and northeast angles, are two turrets of a
hexagon shape, pierced with port-holes, for pro-
tection. Upon the four sides which correspond
with the four important points are port-holes
with cannon. In the inside of the square are
also tield-pieces of bronze, mimnted on w-agons.
There is a nice house for the commander or
director, good lodgings for the subordinate of-
ficers, while the remainder of the square is
taken up by store-houses and work-shops. A
chapel and bastion occupy the southeast angle.
The fort is built at the edge of an elevated piece
of land about two hundred feet above the level
of the sea. To the right and left are ravines
nrsTonr of sonoma covnty.
whicli give protection against attacks from the
• north and south, while tlie steep blnfl' and sea
defend the west. The two ravines open upon
two little bays which serve as a shelter for
sliipping. All the dwellings of Ross are built
of wood, but they are built well and strong. In
the I'ooms of the director's dwelling are found
all the conveniences which are appreciated by
luiropeans and which as yet are unknown in
other parts of L'alifornia. On the outside of the
S(|uare are buildings regularly ranged for sixty
Russians, and low huts for eighty Kadiacs.
Adjoining these are huts of as many poor
(native ?) Indians. To the east of the settlement
the ground gradually rises to a great height,
which protects the settlement from eastern
winds. These hills are covered with thick
forests. The slopes are divided into fields,
fenced in squares, for grain, French corn, pats,
potatoes, etc. These fences ai-e used as pro-
tectors of the crops against enemies and wild
animals."
Such was Fort Ross as described sixty years
ago. So far as location and general details are
concerned, it is very accurate. The height of
the mesa on which the fort stands is placed
at too high a level above the sea, and the
palisade wall of the fort is given about eigiit
feet greater height than it really had. That
the Russians were well prepared to defend
themselves against attack is evidenced by a
note in Bancroft's History which says: " Kuskof
brought eight pieces of artillery in 1812, which
number was soon increased to fifteen or twenty,
and even to fort}' of various caliber by 1841 as
it seems.''
But few of Sonoma County's most intelligent
citizens, we apprehend, are fully advised in
reference to the magnitude and importance of
the operations of this Russian colony that
planted the standard of civilization here. The
oldest men among us were but mere boys when
the whole coast of this county from the Estero
Americano to the Gnalala River were teeming
with life and enterprise. Aleuts in bidaskes
were exi)ioring every bay, cove and estuary in
quest of sea-otter, seal and acqnatic fowls.
Coming from the frigid north where everything
was utilized that would appease hunger or pro-
tect the body from the chilling winds of the
bleak, hyjjerborean climes, they gathered and
utilized much that by the less provident
Spaniards south of the Bay of San Francisco,
would have been esteemed of no value. But
Fort Ross was something more than a mere
fishing station. As already stated they gave
to Bodega Bay the euphonious name, Roumi-
antzof; to the country and streams northward
they gave names of equally as hard enunciation
to American tongues. The country between
Bodega Bay and Russian River they called
Kostromitinof; to Russian River they gave the
name Slavianki; while to the country adjacent
to Ross itself, they gave the name Khlebnikof.
In reference to the character- and number of
inhabitants at Ross after it was founded, Mr.
Bancroft says: "So far as I can judge from the
complicated and contradictory statements of
different M'riters, Russian and foreign, there
were at Ross, after the foundation was fairly
effected, from twenty-five to fifty men of Rus-
sian blood, and from fifty to one-hundred and
twenty Aleuts. No Russian women came to
California, except perhaps the wives of one or
twt) of the officers in the later years; but
both Russians and Aleuts married or cohabited
with native women, so that at the last the three
races were inextricably mixed in the population
of Ross. This population, including the native
Californians who became permanent residents,
may be estimated as having varied from 150
to 400. All to a certain extent in the service
of the company, though many cultivated small
pieces of ground and traded the products on
their own account. The Russians were ofticers,
chiefs of hunting parties, and mechanics; the
Aleuts were hunters, fishermen, and laborers;
the Californians were laborers and servants; all
were to a certain extent farmers and ti'aders and
soldiers."'
AV^hile there was a (ireek chapel, as already
stated, at the fort, tJiere is nnthing to show
IIIST(il!Y <iF SONOMA COUNTY.
that tliere was ever a regular chaplain assigned
to the station. Under authorization of the
bishop one of tlie officers officiated at funerals,
solemnized marriages and administered the ordi-
nance of l)a])tism.
As this coast had been a common poaching
grouiiil tor vessels engaged in taking sea-otter
for neaily a decade before the advent of the
llussians here, large returns from that kind of
hunting were not of long duration and the
Russians naturally turned their attention to
mixed industries. Bancroft, wlio from his vast
I'esonrces of data on this subject is in a position
to speak with great accuracy, says: "As the
hunt for otter became less and less protitalde,
and as obstacles interfered with perfect success
ill way of trade, the agents of the company
turiKil tlifir attention more and more to home
industries at Itoss. Agriculture was naturally
one of the most imijortant of these industries,
and results in this brarich are shown more or
less complete in a note.'' Referring to this
note, we gather the following information in
reference to the Kussian's farming operations:
Kuskof, about 1821, retired from command at
Koss, and was succeeded by a young man, Carl
Schmidt. Kuskof died in Russia in 1828. In
reference to farming it is stated that all the fer-
tile land around the fort was cultivated, and
there were fields two miles away. In 182S the
amount of land cultivated in various fields is
stated to liave been about 175 acres. Seeding
was done in November and December, after the
first rains. Both oxen and horses werg used for
farming purposes, and in rocky places Indians
were employed to spade the soil. Vegetables
were raised in abundance in the gardens, in-
cluding pumpkins and watermelons. Pickled
beets and cabbage were sent to Sitka. Potatoes
were planted twice a year, but the yield was not
large. Wild mustard seed was gathered for ex-
portation. Fruit trees did well. The first
peach-tree brought from San Francisco in 1S14
bore in 1820. Other peach-trees were brought
from Monterey, and also grape-vines from
Lima in 1S17, the latter bearino- in 1823. In
1820, 100 trees, apple, pear, cherry and peach
were set out, bearing in 1828. As related to
wheat, great efforts were made and great re-
sults anticipated in 1826, but there was not
over a half crop, in consequence of rust. In
1833 wild-oats sprang up, and thereafter much
of the land that had been tilled around Ross had
to be pastured. Mice and gophers had become
very destructive. Farming was then trans-
ferred to the month of Russian River, with
much success for a couple of years; but received
a set-back by two years of failure. This will
give a general idea of the farming operations of
the Russians.
In reference to stock we find the following:
Of horned cattle there were about sixty in
1817, 180 in 1821, 520 in 1829, 720 in 1833.
and 1,700 in 1841; horses increased from ten
in 1817 to 250 in 1829, 415 in 1833, and 900
in 1841; there were IGO sheep in 1817, 800 in
1822, 614 in 1829, 605 in 1833, and 900 in
1841; and swine numbered 124 in 1821 and
106 in 1829. There were about fifty mules in
in 1841. Many cattle were killed by the bears
and Indians. I'ulls used to come into the fort
with lacerated flesh and bloody horns after en-
counters with bears. In the last fifteen years
216,000 pounds of salt beef and 17,(100 pounds
of butter were sent to Sitka. Butter brought
about thirty cents a pound at Sitka. Excellent
leather was tanned and exported. The total
product in good years of cattle and sheep was
valued at 8,000 rubles. Bancroft says: "There
was hardly any article of wood, iron or leather
which the mechanics of Ross in the early years
could not make of a ijuality sufficiently good
for the California nuirUet, and to the very last
they received frequent apjilications from the
Spaniards. But in the later yeai's many^ minor
articles were more cheaply obtained from Amer-
ican and English traders. Several boats were
built for Spanish officers or friars. Timlierand
tiles were not only sent south, but north, and
even in some instances to the Sandwich Islands.
Pine pitch was also sent to Sitka in consider-
able quantities, in barrels which, like those for
iirsTonr of bonoma county.
iiiuat and other exports, wei'c made l)y the
Ross coopers."
iJut the Russians were even more than fisher-
men, farmers and artisans. lii^ht here in
Simonia County within the lirst quarter of the
present century not less than four schooners
and ships were built and launched, the carry-
ing capacity varying from 160 to 200 tons.
The schooner Rotnninatzof, of IBO tons burthen
was commenced in 1816 and launched in 1818.
Aside from the labor of construction its cost
was 20,212 rubles. The brig Buldakof, of 200
tons burthen, a copper-bottomed vessel, was put
on the ways in 1819 and completed and launched
in 1820. Its cost of construction was about 80,-
000 rubles. These vesselswereprincipally built
of oak, while in tlie construction of the latter
ones pine and redwood seem to have been
])rincipally used. The Vohja, 160 tons, was
begun in 1821 and was finished and launched
in 1822, at a cost of about 36,189 rubles. The
Kidklifa, of 200 tons burthen, was put on the
ways in 1823, and completed and launched in
1824, at a cost of 35,248 rubJes. These vessels
do not seem to have been of long service, and
this is not to be wondered at when we take
into account the rawness and character of the
wood used in their construction. But this in
no wise militates against the cold facts of his-
tory that when oui' oldest men we)-e mere boys,
ship-building was carritd on right here in
Sonoma County. We have been thus exact in
giving dates and details because we believe
every man, woman and child in the county
ought to know these things. Sir William
Blackstone says in his commentaries on the
common law laid it down as a rule that every
English gentleman ought to know and under-
stand the groundwork of the laws of the country
in which he lived. If this was true of English
gentlemen as related to a knowledge of the laws
of their country, how much more essential is it
that every one laying claim to intelligence in
our midst, should at least have a correct knowl-
edge of the history of the county in which they
live ! Having delineated the main features of
Russian occupation of Sonoma County up to
1830, we now devote a cha]itcr to Sj)anish pro-
gress northward.
iiismnv OF SONOMA couNrr.
t^t^<^t^t^t^'^9^
!>g<^i^<^tgg»t^(^t^?
.Si^i
*.
SJ'thk s;-'ANIaki'S ^:oRTH of the fay, ;^
23s^3aj wi?^^rpi'^^ ^^^si3ag?i.;^'^^:a3a.^^33ii
'^'^^i^^''-^i^^i^^'i-'-^i:^^(-'>'^'^^^^^%^^^
#fe'
CHAl'TER III.
After fortv years of wattixc the Spaniards sktre a i.ougment north of Sax F'RANnsco
Bay A BRANCH MISSTON Tn Doi.ORES AY AS ESTABLISHED AT SaX RaFAKT. IN 1818 IN 1821
AN EXPLORING EXPEDITION WENT NORTH UNDER CaPTAIN ArGUELLO - THEY STARTED FROM
Cauqfinez; traveled n- the Sacramento Valley, i-iioiiAiiLY m Sha>ta, then crossed
TOWARD the coast AND CAME DOWN RuSSIAN RiVER Vai.LKY — I r WAS THE MOST EXTENDEI>
EXPLORATION OF THE SPANIARDS IN 1822 IT WAS DETERMINED To ESTABLISH A NEW MISSION
NdRTII (IF THE BAY" IN 1823 PaURE AlTIMIRA, WITH A SlITAnLE ESCORT, STARTED Tn Lix Al i:
A MISSION site; VISITED Petaluma Yall]:y, Sonoma Yallioy, and finally chose Sonoma-
AFTER CONSIDERABLE TROUBLE AND DELAY THE MISSION AT SoNOMA, UNDER TFILE OF "SaN
Francisco Solano," was duly dedicated Sunday, the 4rii day of April, 182-1 — the
Russians at Ross sent articles of decoration for the church at Sonoma — fruit trees
and \ineyards planted — cattle, horses and sheep Mri.Tipi.Y, AND San Francisco Solano
GATHERS TO ITS FOLD SEVERAL HI NDRED InDIANS.
fORTY years had come anJ gone since pre-
sidio and mission was founded at Yerba
Buena,aiid yet no fruitful attempt had been
made to establish settlement on tlie north side
of the bay. And the lirst movement in that
direction seems to have been impelled by a
teeming necessity. At the mission Dolores
were many hundred neophytes who had been
gatliered in from the many Indian tribes south
of the bay. Among these Indian converts there
was an increasing and alarming mortality from
])ulmoHary disease. The padres, as a sanitary
measure, determined upon the founding of a
branch mission in some more sheltered and
genial clime on the north side of the bay. Tiie
ju'esent site of San Rafael was the location de-
termined upon. The establisliment was to be
more in the nature of a rancho, witli cliapel,
baptistry and cemetery, than a regularly or-
dained mission. Padre Luis Gil yTahoada was
detailed to take charge of this branch establish-
ment of the church. In reference to this brancii
mission P>aucroft says: "The site was proliably
selected on tiie advice of Moraga, who had
several times passed it on his way to and from
Bodega; though there may have been a special
examination Ijy the friars not recorded. Father
Gil was accompanied by Derran, Abella, and
Sarria, the latter of whom on December lith,
with the same ceremonies that usually attended
the dedication of a regular mission, founded
the assistencia of San Rafael Arcangel, on the
spot called by the natives Nanaguani. Though
the establishment was at first only a l)ranch of
San Francisco, an assistencia and not a mission,
with a chapel instead of a church, under a
supernumerary friar of San Francisco; yet there
was no real ditt'erence between its manaij-einent
HISTORT OF SONOMA COUNTY.
and that of the other missions. The luimber
of ncoiihytes trausfei red at first is supposed to
have been about 280, but there is but very little
evidence on the subject, and subsequent trans-
fers, if any were made in eitlier direction, are not
recorded. By the end of 1820 the population
had ineTcased to 590. In 1818 an adobe build-
ing eighty feet long, forty-two feet wide and
eighteen feet high had been erected; divided
by partitions into chapel, padre's house and all
other apartments i'e(|uired, and furnished be-
sides with a corridor of tules. Padre Gil y
Taboada remained in charge of San Rafael until
the summer of 1819, when lie was succeeded by
Juan Anioros."
That even the southern eud of what is now
Sonoma County was yet a comparative terra
incognito to the Spaniards, is evidenced by the
fact that as late as May, 1818, on the occasion
of a visit of President Payeras with Comniandante
Arguello to San Rafael, they made quite an
exploration of the surrounding country and re-
ported having seen from the top of a hill " the
Canada de los Olompalis and the Llano de los
Petalnmas."' Thus, as Moses viewed the
promised land from the summit of Mount Pisga,
did priest and comniandante from the summit
of a Marin County hill look down upon Peta-
luma Valley in the year of grace, 1818. The
comniandante referred to in this connection was
Captain Luis Arguello. Governor Arrillaga
having died in 1813, Ai-guelio filled the position
of acting governor until Sola was appointed to
that position. Ai-guello was a man of consider-
able energy and dash, and it was but natural
that Governor Sola should select him for a
hazardous enterprise. Late in the summer of
1821 the Governor determined to send an ex-
ploring expedition up north. As this was one
of the most consccpiential explorations ever
undertaken under Spanish rule, and as it has
an intimate connection with Sonoma County,
we give place to Hubert Howe Bancroft's nar-
ration of the meaniierings of the expedition.
which is as follows:
"Thirty live soldados de cuera and twenty
infantes, part of the force coming from Mon-
terey, were assembled at San l"'rancisco. Horses
and much of the supplies were sent from Santa
Clara and San Jose up to the Strait of the Car-
quinez. The officers selected were Captain
Luis Arguello, Alferez Francisco de Haro,
Alferez Jose Antonio Sanchez, and Cadet
Joaquin Estudillo, with Padre Bias Ordaz as
chaplain and chronicler, and John Gilroy, called
the 'English interpreter Juan Antonio.' Some
neophytes were also attached to the force, and
all was ready for the start the 18th of October.
The company sailed from San Francisco at 11
A. M. in the two lanchas of the presidio and
mission, landing at Ruyuta, near what is now
Point San Pedro, to pass the night. Next day
they continued the voyage to the Carquinez,
being joined by two other boats. Saturday and
Sunday were spent in ferrying the horses across
the strait, together with a band of Ululatos and
Cauucaynios Indians, en route to visit their
gentile homes, and in religious exercises.
Monday morning they started for the north..
" The journey which followed was popularly
known to the Spaniards at the time, and since
as ' Arguello's expedition to the Columbia."
The Columbia was the only northern region of
which the Spaniards had any definite idea, or
was rather to them a term nearly synonymous
with the northern interior. It was from the
Columbia that the strange people sought were
supposed to have come; and it is not singular
in the absence of any correct idea of distance,
that the only expedition to the far north was
greatly exaggerated in respect to the distance
traveled. The narratives in my possession,
written by old Californians, some of whom ac-
companied Arguello, are unusually inaccurate
in their versions of this affair, on which they •
would throw Init very little light in the al)seuce
of the original diary of Father Ordaz — a docu-
ment that is fortunately extant.
"Starting from the strait on the morning of
October 22, Arguello and his company marched
for nine days, averaging little less than eight
hours a day, northward up the valley of the
niSTORT OF SONOMA COUNTY.
Sai-rainento, which they called the Jesus Maria.
The names of raiiclierias 1 give in a note. Tliere
is little else to be said of the march, the obsta-
cles to be overcome having been few and slight.
Tlie natives were either friendly, timid, or
slightly hostile, having to be scattered once or
twice by the noise of a cannon. The neophyte
Rafael from San Francisco had but little diffi-
cujtv in making himself understood. The most
serious calamity was the loss of a mule that fell
into the river with two thousand cartridges on
its back. There were no indications of for-
eigners.
"On the 30th, to use the words of the diary,
'the place where we are is situated at the foot
of the Sierra Madre, whence there have been
seen by the English interpreter, Juan Antonio,
two mountains called Los Cuates — the Twins —
on the opposite side of which are the presidio
and river of the Columbia. The rancherias be-
fore named are situated on the banks of the Rio
de Jesns Maria, from which to-morrow a differ-
ent direction will betaken.' Accordingly the
the 31st they ' inarched west until they came to
the foot of a mountain range, about fifteen
leagues from the Sierra Nevada, which runs
from north to south, terminating in the region
of Bodega.' Exactly at what point the travel-
ers left the river and entered the mountain
range, now bounding Trinity County 07i the
east, I do not attempt to determine, though
it was evidently not below Red Bluff. The
distance made up the valley, allowing an aver-
age rate of three miles an hour for sixty-eight
hours, the length of the return march of ninety-
six hours through the mountains, at a rate of
two miles an hour, and the possible identity of
Capa, reached in forty-four hours from Car-
quinez, with the Capaz of modern maps opposite
Chico, would seem to point to the latitude of
Shasta or Weaverville as the northern limit of
this exploration.
" For nine days, the explorers marched south-
ward over the mountains. No distances ai'e
given, and I shall not pretend to trace the exact
route followed, though I give in a note the
names recorded in the diary. Like tiiose in
the valley, the savages were not, as a rule, hos-
tile, though a few had to be killed in the ex-
treme north; but their language could no longer
be understood, and it was often diflicult to
obtain guides from i-ancheria to rancheria. The
natural difficulties of the mountain route were
very great. Many horses died, and four pack-
mules once fell down a precipice together. The
3d of November, at Benenue, some l)lue cloth
was found, said to have been obtained from the
coast, probably from the Russians. On the 6th
the ocean was first seen, and several soldiers
recognized the 'coast of the Russian establish-
ment at Bodega.' Next day from the Espinazo
del Diablo was seen what was believed to be
Cape Mendocino, twenty leagues away on the
right. Finally, on the 10th, the party from the
top of a mountain, higher than any before
climbed, l)ut in sight of many worse ones,
aliandoned by their guides at dusk, \v\\\\ only
three days' rations, managed to struggle down
and out through the dense undergrowth into a
valley.
'• And down this valley of Libantiliyami,
which could hardly have been any othei- than
that of the Russian River, though at what point
in the present Sonoma County, or from what
direction they entered it I am at a loss to say, the
returning wanderers hastened; over a route that
seems to have presented no obstacles — doubtless
near the sites of the modern Healdsburg and
Santa Rosa — and on November 12th, at noon,
after twenty hours' march in three da^'s, arrived
at San Rafael. Next day, after a thanksgiving
mass, the boats arrived and the w-ork of ferrying
the horses across to Point San Pablo was be-
gun. The infantry soldiers, who were mounted
durinor the expedition, also took this route
home, both to Monterey and San Francisco.
Thus ended the most extensive northern expedi-
tion ever made by the Spaniards in California."
By reference to the notes referred to by Mr.
Bancroft in the above, it is (juite certain that
Arguello and his companions reached Russian
River at or near the present site of Cloverdale.
IirSTOIiT OF SONOMA COUNTY.
Be that as it may, it is lieyoml cavil that they
were the tirst Sj)aiiianis to traverse the central
valleys of Sunoiria County. While the expedi-
tion was not fruitfnl of far-reaciiing results, yet
it furnishes an importaut leaf to local history.
iJeing the tirst of civilized race to traverse the
territory of the county its whole length, entitles
that little hand of explorers to kindly reniein-
hrance and honorable mention in her annals.
I'ut the time was close at hand when Sonoma
County which had lain fallow all these years,
except that jjortion of seaboard under occupancy
by the Russians, was to come under Spanish
domination. The establishment of a new mis-
sion was determined upon. The causes which
impelled this movement northward will seem
.strange to the readers of the present generation.
In the language of Bancroft, " In 1822 at a con-
ference between Canon Fernandez, Prefect Pay-
eras, and Governor Arguello, it had been
decided to transfer the mission of San Francisco
from the peninsula to the ' northeastern contra
'■osta on the gentile frontier,' a decision based
on the comparative sterility of the old site, the
insalubrity of the peninsula climate, the broad-
ness of tlie field for conversion in the north, the
success of the experimental founding of tlie San
liafael branch, and not improbably a desire on
the part of two of the three dignitaries to throw
tlie few fertile ranchos south of San Francisco
into the hands of settlers. The matter next
came up just before tlie death of Payeras, who
seems to have had nothing more to say about it.
March 23, 1823, Padre Jose Altimira, very
likely at Arguello's instigation, presented to the
de]>utacion a memorial in which he recom-
mended the transfer, he being a party naturally
interested as one of the ministers of San Fran-
cisco. On April 9th, the deputacion voted in
favor of the change. It was decreed that the
assistencia of San liafael should be joined again
to San Francisco, and transferred with it, and
the suggestion made that the country of the
Petalumas or of the Canicaimos, should be the
new site. The suppression of Santa Cruz was
also recommended. The Governor sent these
resolutions to Mexico next day, and Altimira
forwarded copies to the new prefect, Scnaii,un
April 30th, but received no response.
" An exploration was next in order, for the
countiy between the Suisunes and Petalumas
was as yet only little known, some parts of it
having never been visited by the Spaniards.
With this object in. view, Altimira and the
disputado, Fi'ancisco Castro, with an escort of
nineteen men under Alferez Jose Sanchez, em-
barked at San Francisco on the 25th of dune,
and spent the night at San Rafael. l!oth San-
chez and Altimira kept a diary of the trip in
nearly the same words. * * * The explor-
ers went by way of Olompali to the Petal unia,
Sonoma, Napa, and Suisun valleys in succes-
sion, making a somewhat close examination of
each. Sonoma was found to be best adapted for
mission purposes by reason of its climate, loca-
tion, abundance of wood and stone, including
limestone as w^as thought, and above all for its
innumerable and most excellent springs and
streams. The plain of the Petaluma, broad and
fertile, lacked water; that of tlie Suisunes was
liable, more or less, to the same objection, and
was also deemed too far from the old San Fran ■
cisco; but Sonoma, as a mission site, with
eventually branch establishments, or at least
cattle-ranchos at Petaluma and Napa, seemed to
the three representatives of civil, military, and
Francisian power to offer every advantage.
Accordingly on July ith, a cross was blessed
and set up on the site of a former gentile ran-
cherai, now formally named New San Francisco.
A volley of musketry was tired, sex'eral songs
were sung, and holy mass was said. July ith
might, therefore, with greater propriety than
any other date be celebrated as the anniversary
of the foundation, though the place was for a
little time abandoned, and on the sixth all were
back at Old San Francisco."
We cannot give the reader a more correct
idea of this tirst exploration of the southern end
of Sonoma County than is given in the language
of Padre Altimira's diary, which is epitomized
as follows in Alley, liowen it Co.'s History of
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNT F.
Souoiiiii County: '• The I'adre and his party left
San Rafael, where a mission had been already
founded, on the 25th of June. 1823, and during
the day passed the position now occupied by
the city of Petaluma, then called by the Span-
iards, ' Pnnta de los Esteros,' and known to the
Indians as ' Chocuale,' that night encamping
on the 'Arroyo Lema," where the large adobe on
the Petaluma Rancho was afterward constructed
by General Vallejo.
''Here a day's halt would appear to have
been called, in order to take a glance at the
beautiful country and devise jneans of further
progress. On the 27th they reached the famous
• Laguna de Tolly,' now, alas, nothing but a
place, it having fallen into the hands of a Ger-
man gentleman of marked utilitarian principles,
who has drained and reclaimed it, and planted
it with potatoes. Here the expedition took a
northeasterly route, and entering the Sonoma
Valley, which Father Altimira states was then
so called by former Indian residents; the party
encamped on the arroyo of ' Pulpula,' where J.
A. Poppe, a merchant of Sonoma, has a large
tish-breediug establishment, stocked with carp
brought from Rhinefelt, in Germany, in 1871.
The holy father's narrative of tiie beauties of
Sonoma Valley, as seen by the new-comers, are
so graphically portrayed by himself that we
cannot refrain from quoting his own words:
• At about 3 1'. M.,' (June 28, 1823,) ' leaving
our camp and our boat on the slough near l)y,
we started to explore, directing our course north-
westward across the plain of Sonoma, until we
reached a stream (Sonoma Creek) of aljout five
hundred plumas of water, crystalline and most
pleasing to the taste, flowing through a grove
of beautiful and useful trees. The stream flows
from some hills which enclose the plain, and
terminate it on the north. We went on, pene-
trating a broad grove of oaks; the trees were
lofty and robust, aft'ordiug an external source of
utility, both for firewood and carriage nmterial.
This forest was about three leagues long from
east to west, and a league and a half wide from
north to south. The plain is watered by another
arroyo still more copious and pleasant than the
former, flowing from west to east, but traveling
northward from the center of the plain. We
explored this evening as far as the daylight
permitted. The permanent springs, according
to the statement of those who have seen -them
in the extreme dry season, are almost innumer-
able. No one can doubt the benignity of the
Sonoma climate after noting the plants, the
lofty and shady trees — alders, poplars, ash,
laurel, and others — and especially the abundance
and luxuriance of the wild grapes. We ^ib-
served, also, that the launch ma}^ come up tlic
creek to where a settlement can be founded,
truly a most convenient circumstance. AVe saw
from these and other facts that Sonoma is a
most desirable site for a mission.'
" Let us here note who are now located on
the places brought pi-ominently forward by
Padre Altimira. The hills which inclose the
valley and ont of whose bosom the Sonoma
Creek springs, is now occupied by the residence
and vineyard of Mr. Edwards. The forest men-
tioned covered the present site of the Leaven-
worth vineyards, the Hayes' estate, and the
farms of Wrutten, Carriger, Harrison, Craig.
Herman, Wohler, Hill, Stewart, Wartield,
Krous ct Williams, La Alotte, Hood, Kohler,
Morris, and others. The second stream men-
tioned as flowing northward from the center of
the plains, is the ' Olema,' or flour-mill stream,
on which Colonel -George F. Hooper resides,
while the locality in which he states are innum-
erable springs, is the tract of country where
now are located the hacienda of Lachryma
Montis, the residence of General M. G. Vallejo
and the dwellings and vineyards of llaraszthy,
Gillen, Tichner, Dressel, Winchel, Gundlach,
Rnbus, Snyder, Nathanson, and the ground of
the Buena Vista Vinicultural Society. The
head of navigation noted is the place since
called St. Louis, but usually known as the Em-
barendero.''
Of this first exploration of the country round
about Petaluma and Sonoma, every incident
will be of interest to the reader. In Padre
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
Altiinira's diarj, note is inaile of the killing of 1
a bear on the Petaluina flat. Mention is also
made that their first night's camp (probal)ly
near where the old Vallejo adoba now stands.)
was with eight or ten Petalumas ^Indian?)
hiding there from their enemies, the Libantilo-
queini, Indians of Santa Ivosa Valley. As
alread}- stated, the exploration extended as far
east as Suisun Valley, and .Mtiniira mentions |
tliat uu the 30th of June they killed ten bears.
(_)n returning they gave the Sonoma Valley a |
more complete examination and crossed the |
mountains back into the upper end of Petaluraa
Valley and back to where they camped the first
uight. From there they seem to have taken a :
pretty direct route back to Sonoma, probably'
about the route of the old road leading from
Petaluma to Sonoma. This was on the 3d of
July, and the next day the mission location
was formally established at Sonoma.
The prelate upon whose decision the Alti-
mira enterprise depended for a full fruition had
not yet been heard from. Altimira represented
to him, and with a great deal of apparent truth,
that " San Francisco was on its last legs, and
that San Rafael could not subsist alone." But
the desired sanction from the prelate had not
yet come, (governor Arguello seemed impa-
tient of delay and ordered Altimira to proceed
with the work of founding the new mission, an
order that Padre Altimira seemed to be only
too ready to obey, for he seemed to have been a
Hery, impetuous mortal, with more zeal than
pi-udence. On the 12th of August he took
possession of the effects of the San Rafael mis-
sion by inventory, and by the 2;3d he was on his
way to Xew San Francisco with an escort of
twelve men, and an artilleryman to manage a
cannon of two pound caliber. He was also
accompanied by (juite a force of neophytes as
laborers. By the 25th all hands were on the
ground and the work i)f planting a mission cou)-
menced. At the end of a week tlie work had
so far progressed that it coidd be said of a surety
that Sonoma Valley had passed under the do-
minion of civilized man. But Altimira was
destined to have his Christian forbearance
tested. The jirelate refused to sanction the
wiping out of the San Rafael mission. While
he did not express a decided opinion on the
propriety of the removal of the San Francisco
mission, he expressed amazement at the hasty
and unauthorized manner in which the deputa-
cion had acted in the premises. On the 31st of
August this decision reached the Padre at New
San Francisco, and for the time put an end to
his operations. That this interruption did not
put Altimira in a very prayerful frame of mind
is evidenced by the vinegar and gall apparent in
his epistolatory record in connection with the
subject. In a letter to Governor Arguello in
reference to the prelate's decision, Altimira
says: " I wish to know whether the deputacion
has any authority in this ])rovince, and if these
men can overthrow j'our honor's wise provis-
ions. I came here to convert gentiles and
to establish missions, and if I cannot do it here,
where as we all agree is the best spot in Cali-
fornia for the purpose, I will leave the country."
As a plain missionary proposition Padre Alti-
mira was right; but as an ecclesiastical fact he
was restive under a harness of his own choos-
ing, and was wrong. Sarriawas then president
of the California missions. The seijuel to the
prelate's decision is thus recited by Bancroft:
"A correspondence followed between Sarria and
Arguello, in which the former with many ex-
pressions of respect for the governor and the
secular government not unmixed with personal
flattery of Arguello, justitied in a long argu-
ment the position he had assumed. The (gov-
ernor did not reply in detail to Sarria'o
arguments, since it did not in his view matter
much what this or that prelect had or had not
approved, but took tiie ground that the deputa-
cion was empowered to act for the public good
in all such urgent matters as that under con-
sideration, and that its decrees must be carried
out. During tifty years the friars had made
no progress in the conversion of northern gen-
tries or occupation of northern territory: and
now the secular authorities proposed to take
26
HISTORT OF S0N031A COUNTY.
cliarge ut' the coiu^uest in tlie temporal aspect
at least. The new establishment would be sus-
ta ned with its escolta under a inajordomo, and
the prelate's refusal to authorize Altimira to
care for its spiritual needs would be reported to
the authorities in Mexico.
" Yet, positive as was the Governor's tone in
general, he declared that he would not insist on
the suppression of San Rafael; and, though
some of the correspondence has doulitless been
lost, he seems to have consented readily enough
to a compromise suggested by the prefect, and
said by him to have been more or less fully ap-
proved by Altimira. By the terms of this
compromise new San Francisco was to remain
as a mission in regular standing, and Padre
Altimira was appointed its regular minister,
subject to the decision of the college; T)ut
neither old San Francisco nor San Rafael was
to be suppressed, and Altimira was to be still
associate minister of the former. Neophytes
might go Voluntarily from old San Francisco to
the new establishment, and also from San Jose
and San Rafael, jirovided they came originally
from the Sonoma region, and provided also that
in the case of San Rafael they might return if
they wished at any time within a year. New
converts might come in from any direction to
the mission they preferred, but no force was to
be used."
Under these conditions and restrictions the
tiery Altimira entered upon the task of Chris-
tianizing Sonoma County heathen. While he
did not let pass an opportunity to enveigli
against the perverse and narrow-gauge methods
of the old missions, he seems to have entered
with the zeal of a Paul into his missionary
work. Pancruft, who has all the data to enable
him to speak with absolute certainty, says:
"Passion Sunday, April 4, 1824, the mission
church, a somewhat rude structure 24 Ijy 105
feet, built of boards and whitewashed, but well
furnished and decorated in the interior, many
articles having been presented by the Russians,
was dedicated to San Francisco Solano, which
from this date became the name of the mission.
Hitherto it had been properlj' new San Fran-
cisco, though Altimira had always dated his
letters San Francisco simply, and referred to
the peninsula establishment as Old San Fran-
cisco; but this usage became inconvenient, and
rather than honor St. F'rancis of Asisi with two
missions it was agreed to dedicate the new one
to San Francisco Solano, > the great apostle of
the Indies.' It was largely from this early con-
fusion of names, and also from the inconven-
ience of adding Asisi and Solano to designate
the respective Saints Francis and Solano that
arose the popular usuage of calling the two
missions Dolores and San Solano, the latter
name being replaced ten years later by the
original one of Sonoma."'
Elsewhere we have said that right here in
Sonoma County the Catholic and the Greek
i Cross met, and it but lends luster to the pages
of history to record that though coming by
different roads they met in friendship; for, with
deft hands, the communicants of the Greek
church at Ross shaped gifts for ornamentation
and decoration of the Catholic mission of So-
; noma. Altimira remained in charge at Sonoma
I until 1826 when he was superseded by Buena-
ventura Fortuni. Altimira had displayed con-
siderable energy in his iield of labor, for at
Sonoma he had constructed a padre's house,
granary and seven houses for the guard, besides
the chapel, all of wood. Before the year 1824
closed there had been constructed a large
adobe 30 by 120 feet, seven feet high, with
tiled roof and corridor, and a couple of other
structures of adobe had been constructed ready
to roof, when the excessive rains of that season
set in and ruined the walls. A loom was set
up and weaving was in operation. Quite an
orchard of fruit trees was planted and a vine-
yard of 3,000 vines was set out. Bancroft says:
" Between 1824 and 1830 cattle increased from
1,100 to 2,000; horses from 400 to 725; and
sheep remained at 4,000, though as few as 1,500
in 1826. Crops amounted to 1,875 bushels per
year on an average, the largest yield being
3,945 in 1826, and the smallest 510 in 182'^,
BISTORT OF SONOMA COUNTY.
when wlieat ami barley failed completely. At
tlio end of 1824 the mission had 693 neophytes,
of whom 322 had come from San Francisco,
153 from San Jose, 02 from San Rafael, and 9()
had been baptized on the spot. By 1830, (ioO
had l)een baptized and 375 buried; but the
number of neophytes had increased only to
760, leaving a margin of over 100 for runaways,
even on the supposition that all from San
Rafael retired the first year to their old home.
Notwithstanding the advantages of the site
and Altimira's enthusiasm the mission at
Sonoma was not prosperous during its short
e.xistence."
Thus far we have followed the foi-tunesof the
cliurch in its missionary work on tins side of
the bay. AVhile it was not as fruitful of results
as the church probably expected, it at least
paved the way for secular occupation. As it
had been in the south, so too in the north an at-
tempt at colonization was sure to follow in
the paths made easy by the pluck and persever-
ance of the padres. We again turn to Ross
and ti'ace Russian occupation to a conclusion.
28
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
^^ tig^miMjB^g^-. _.
^
11^
THE EUSSIANS AND EOSS TO A CONCLUSION,
CHAPTER IV.
TlIK RlSSIAN-i AT Ru>^S IJECIX Til RKALIZK THAT THEV H A \ K lou NAUKnW A FrKLI) WILI, lU' V
M1IKI-; TKKKITOKV OU SELL THEllJ ESTAISI.ISIIMENTS TIIEIK HXEKTl KES AHE M )T WELL KECEUED
1!V MkXK AN Al TIK.IKITIES — 1.\ 1834: VaLLEJO WAS COM.MANHAME AT iSi iXUMA, AXD liEGAN T(J
L'H>K SIIAKI' AFIEl: IH K Rl>MA.\S AT RoSS THE RfSSIANS i>I-IEl; THEIR I'KOPEKTV EnK SALE
— iNVE.NTtiHv <iK THEiK i'i;oi'i;i;r V — IN 1841 THE RrssLws SELL Til Cai'taix JdHX A. Sit-
ter AXII lAKK THEIli DEl'ARTLKK FiiR AlASKA SuTTEK TOi>K MdST (iF THE MOCK AM) MiME
UF THE HOUSES T'O His Sa( RAM i;XIc i ESTABLISHMENT RiDW lOLL AND ReXXITZ AT Ri i>s AS
SlTTEu's AGENTS — A TRII' TO RoSS TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS AGO — ReNXITz's STOKV AlioUT SHOUT-
ING A (JKIZZLY' BEAK FoRT Ross AND ITS SURROLNDINGS IN 1888.
^'S§(4A1N \vt3 turn to tliat busy bee-liive ot
,-;xai indiistrv, the Muscovite settlement at Fort
■^s^ Ross. We have somewhat in advance ^>f
1880 shown what had been accomplished by
tliat colony. The time had now come wlien its
futuru u.vistence had to be determined. There
was no motive for tiie Russians to hold an. occu-
pancy limited by Rodetfa Bay on the south and
the Gualala River on the north. At best,
tiiere was but a narrow bench of seaboard avail-
able for either farming or orazing purposes.
True, there was a wealth of forest back of this
mesa, but thev had already learned that this
timber was not durable as material for ship-
building. They had pretty well e\liauste<l the
sujiply of timber from which pine jjitch ('(Uild
be manufactured. Tan bark for the carrying
on of their tanneries was their most promising
continuing supply for the future. The agents
of the Alaska Fur Company had already signi-
fied to the California authorities a willingness
to vacate Fort Ross upon payment for improve-
ments. Through the intricate evolutions of red
tape this was transmitted to the viceory of
Mexico, and as that functionary took it as an
evidence that tlie Russian colony at Ross was
on its last legs, refusal was made on the ground
that the Russians, having made improvements
on ypanish territory, with material acquired
from Spanish soil, they ought not to e.xpect
payment for the same. While this is not the
language, it is the spirit of the view the viceroy
took of the subject. As a legal proposition
this was doubtless true, but as a matter of fact,
at any time after 1825 the superintendent at
Ross had at his command sufMcieut of the arma-
ment and munitions of war to have marched
from Ross to San Diego without let or hin-
drance, so far as the viceroy of Mexico was
concerned. These Dons and Hidalgos seemed,
however, to consider their rubrics to be more
powerful than swords or cannon. As their
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
29
overtures for sale had been thus summarily dis-
posed of, the cold, impassive Muscovites pursued
the eveu tenor of their way, and as the lauds
around Fort Ross became exhausted by continu-
ous farming they extended their farming opera-
tions southward between tlie Russian River and
Bodega Bay, and ultimately inland to the neigh-
borhood of the present village of Bodega Corners.
At the latter i)lace there were sevei-al Russian
graves, in the midst of which there stood a
(xreek cross, long after the Americans came into
occupancy. The earliest American settlers in
that neighborhood aver that the Russians had a
grist-mill some two or three miles eastei'ly from
Bodega Corners. Certain it is that the author-
ities at San P'rancisco had notification that the
Russians contemplated occupation for farming
purposes as far inland as the present site of
Santa Rosa. These rumors, whether true or
not, doubtless accelerated the movement of
Spanish colonization in that direction.
Governor Wrangeli, now having control in
Alaska, seems to have taken an intelligent view
of the whole situation, and realized that unless
the company, of which he was head representa-
tive, could obtain undisputed possession of all
the territory north of the Bay of San Francisco
and eastward to the Sacramento, it was useless
to attempt a continuance at Ross. To achieve
this end the Alaska Company was willing to buy
the establishments already at San RafViel and
Sonoma. The fact that the California authori-
ties submitted these 2")ropositions to the Mexican
government, now free from the yoke of Spanish
rule, would indicate that by them such a propo-
sition was not considered in the light of a
heinous offense. Alvarado was then at the
head of the California government and no doubt
lie looked with great distrust, if not alarm,
upon the number of Americans who were be-
ginning to find their way into California. But
General Vallejo, who was now almost autocrat
on the north side of the Bay of San Francisco,
was not, probably, so averse to Americans, as he
had already three brothers-in-law of Yardvce
bluciil. Through these kinsmen, who were all
gentlemen of good intelligence and education,
A^allejo had become well informed in reference
to the push and energy of the xVmerican people,
and hence it is quite certain that he did not
favor any permanent occupancy here by any
European power. In truth, while the California
government had confined itself to wordy pen
remonstrances with the occupants of Ross, in
1840 A'allejo seems to have made quite a show
of calling Rotclief, the then sujieriutendent at
Ross, to accountability for having allowed the
American ship Lausanne to land and discharge
passengers at Bodega as though it were a tree
port. Some of these passengers, who went to
Sonoma, were incarcerated by the irate Vallejo,
and he even sent a file of soldiers to Bodega to
give warning that such infractions would lead
to .serious consequences if persisted in. This
was the nearest to an open rupture of amicable
relations that ever occurred between Spaniard and
Muscovite on this coast that we find any record
of, and this could not have been of a very san-
guinary nature, for it seems that Vallejo and
Rotchef were on social good terms afterward.
The proposed accjuisition of territory by
Governor Wrangeli met with no encouragement
from the Mexican Government, in reference
to this matter Bancroft says: "The intention of
tiie Russians to abandon Ross and their wish to
sell their property there, had, as we have seen,
been announced to Alvarado, and by him to the
Mexican government, before the end of 18-10.
In January 1841, Vallejo, in reporting to the
minister of war his controversy with Rotchef
and Krupicurof, mentioned the prop(jsed aban-
donment, taking more credit to himself than the
facts could justify, as a result of that contro
versy. The Russians had consulted him as to
their power to sell the buildings as well as live-
stock to a private person, and he had been told
that 'the nation had the first right,' and would
have to be consulted. The fear that impelled
him at that time to answer thus cautiously was
that some foreigners from tiie Columbia or else-
where might outbid any citizen of California,
and thus i-aise a question of sovereignty, which
30
HTSTOUY OF SONOMA COtfNTY.
might prove ti-unlilesoirie in the future to Mexi-
can interests. \'allej\i also urged tlie govern-
ment to lurnisli a garrison, and authorize the
jilantino- of a eolony at the abandoned post. In
I'el/ruarVi Imwever, Kostromitiiiot', representing
tlie company, proposed to sell the property to
Vallejo himself lor !S30,000, payable half in
money or ijills of the Hudson Bay Company,
and lialf in produce delivered at Yei'ba Bueiia.
The (xeneral e.xpressed a willingness to make tlie
]iurchase, but could not pi'omise a definite deci-
sion on the subject before July or August.
I'emling the decision, the Russian agent seems
to liave entered, perhaps secretly, into negotia-
tions with Joliii A. Sutter, who at that time was
not disposed to buy anything but moveable
property. Meanwhile a reply came from
Mexico, tiiough by no means a satisfactory one;
since the government — evidently with some kind
of an idea tliat the Russian officials had been
frightened away, leaving a flourishing settle-
ment to be taken possession of by the Califor-
uians — simply sent useless instructions about tiie
details of occupation and form of government
to be established. In July Kostromitinof re-
turned from Sitka, and negotiations were recom-
mended. Alvarado was urged to come to
Sonoma, but declined; thongh he advised
Vallejo that in the absence of instructions from
Mexico the Russians had no right to dispose of
the real estate. An elaborate inventory of the
property offered for sale at $30,000 was made
out, but Vallejo's best offer seems to have been
$9,000 for the live stock alone."
In a foot note Bancroft gives the inventory of
property offered for sale whicli is as follows:
'• St^uare fort of logs, 1088 feet in circumfer-
ence, twelve feet high, with two towers; com-
mandant's house of logs (old), 36x48 feet double
boarde<l roof, six rooms with corrider and
kitchen; ditto (^new) of logs, 24x48 feet, six
rooms and corridor; house for revenue officers,
22x60 feet, ten rooms; barracks, 24x66 feet,
eight rooms; three warehouses; new kitchen;
jail; chapel, 24x36 feet, with a belfry, and
a well fifteen feet deep. Outside of the
I fort: blacksmith shop, tannery, liath-house,
cooper's shoji, bakeiy, carpenter's shop, two
windmills for grinding, one mill moved by
animals, three threshing floors, a well, a stable,
sheep-cote, hog-pen, dairy house, two cow
stables, corral, ten sheds, eight baths, ten
kitchens, and twenty-four houses, nearly every
one having an orchard. At Kostromitinof
rancho, house, farm buildings, corral, and boat
for crossing the river Slaviauka. At Khlebnikof
rancho, adobe house, farm buildings, bath, mill,
cori'al. At Tschernich, or Don Jorge's rancho,
house, sto e, fences, etc. At Bodega, warehouse
30x60 feet, three small houses, bath, ovens,
corrals. As this list of improvements was
made out by Russian hands it may be accepted
as a true statement of the conditions at and in
the neighborhood of Ross in the last year of
Russian occupation there. The only omission
of consequence seems to have been the orchard
some distance i)ack of the fort, on the hillside,
and a vineyard of 2000 vines at what is desig-
nated " Don Jorge's rancho." In reference to
this rancho, Belcher in his notes of travel in
1837, mentioned a i-ancho between Ross and
Bodega claimed by a ci-devant Englishman (D.
Gorgy), yielding 3,000 bushels of grain in good
years.
Governor Alvora as well as Vallejo evidently
thought that they had Kostromitinof in a corner
so far as his ability to sell the Ross property
was concerned, and their only real concern was
lest he would make a bonfire of the buildings
rather than leave them for Mexican occupation.
But in this they were mistaken, for a purchaser
was found in Captain John A. Sutter. In refer-
ence to the sale thus consummated Bancroft says:
" Sutter, like Vallejo, had at first wished to pur-
chase the live-stock only; but he would perhaps
have bought anything at any price if it could
be obtained on credit; at any rate, after a brief
hesitation a bargain was made in Septeml)er.
Tiie formal contract was signed by Kostromi-
tinof and Sutter in the office of the sub-prefect
at San Francisco, with Vioget and Leese as
witnesses, December 13. By its terms Sutter
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUFTT.
31
was put ill possession of all the property at
Ross and Bodega, except the land, as specified
in the inventory, and he was to pay for it in
four yearly installments, beginning September
1, 1842. The first and second payments were
to be !?i5,000 each, and the others of $10,000;
the first three were to be in produce, cliiefiy
wheat, delivered at San Francisco free of duties
and tonnage; and the fourth was to lie in money.
The establishment at New Helvetia and the
property at Bodega and the two ranchos of
Khlebnikof and Tschernich, which property was
to be left intact in possession of the company's
agents were pledged as guarantees for the pay-
ment. It would seem that Alvarado, while
insisting that the land did not belong to the
company and could not be sold, had yielded his
point about the buildings, perhaps in the belief
tiiat no purchaser could be found ; for the Kus-
sians say that the contract was approved by the
California government, and it is certain that
there was no official disapproval of its terms."
It will be borne in mind that Kostroinitinof,
who executed this contract with Captain Sut-
ter, was the head officer of the Alaska govern-
ment while, at the time, Liotchef was manager
at Ross. When it came to a delivery of the
property Sutter seems to have induced Mana-
ger Rotchef to give him a writing ante-dating
the contract above referred to one day, in which
Rotchef certified that the lands held by the
company for twenty-nine years was inchuled in
the sale to M. Le Capitaine Sutter of the other
effects of the comj^any for the sum of §30,000.
It was upon the shadowy title to land thus ac-
quired by certificate of a subordinate officer
who haiVno jiowcr to confirm any such sale, that
Ilussian title to land along the coast became a
stalking spectacle among American settlers in
after years.
Previous to this sale of the lioss and Uodega
j)r()perty to Sutter, a portion of the former oc-
cupants there had Ijeen transferred to Alaska
stations. Manager liotchef, together with the
remaining emjdoyes of the company, took
their departuie from Ross in the late days of
1841 or early in January of 1842, on board the
Constantine, bound for Alaska. While all of
them, doubtless, had cherished associations and
memories of the land to which they returned,
we imagine that it was not without sore and
sad hearts many of them watched the receding
outlines of Fort Ross and the evergreen forests
that forms its enchanting back-ground. Thus,
in a day, where for near!}' a third of a century
had been heard the ringing of hammer and
anvil; the noisy labor of ship-carpenters and
calkers and the din of coopers, a sudden silence
fell, seemingly like that which hovered over
that quiet spot just south of the fort where a
(xreek cross marked the last resting place of
those who had ended their life-work there.
Even the stock that had been reared there were
gathered together and driven to the Sacramento
valley ranch of C!aptain Sutter. And as if the
hand of fate had turned entirely against Ross,
Sutter, by means of a schooner he had acquired
in the purchase from the Russians, even carried
away from Ross several buildings with which
to adorn the inner court of his fort at New-
Helvetia. This will account for the absence at
Ross of many buildings enumerated in the cat-
alogue at the time of sale by the Russians. As
Fort Ross occupies a first prominence in the
history of Sonoma Comity it will not be out of
place to follow its history to its end in this
chapter.
In reference to the departure of the Rus-
sians from Fort Ross, Bancroft says: '-One
Russian, and perhaps several, remained on the
ranches to look out for the company's interests.
Sutter sent Robert Ridley to assume charge for
him at first; but John J-iidwell took his place
early in 1842, and was in turn succeeded iiy
William Bennitz late in 1843. Meanwhile
most of the moveable property, including the
cannon, implements, and most of the cattle, was
removed to New Helvetia. Tiie few hundred
cattle left behind soon l)ecame so wild that if
meat was needed it was easier to catch a deer
or bear. The Californians made no effort to
occupy the abandoned fortress; since having
39
JlIsTOnr OF SONOMA COUNTY.
virtually consented to tlie sale of everytliing
l)Ut the land, the govern nient liail iio pi'ojicrty
tu he jiTdtected there."
As already stated William llennitz took jios-
session uf the Ross propei-ty as Gutter's agent
ill 1843. He subsequently leased the property,
ill about 1845, and still later purchased the
Imildings and fort and became possessor of the
Miiniz or Fort Ross grant e.xtending along tiie
coast from the Russian River northward to a
iioiiit just above tiie present Timber Cove.
Mr. liennitz, with liis family, lived at i'"ort Ross
until 1807, when he sold the property and re-
moved tci ()akland. In 1874 he went to the
Argentine Repuliiic, and died there in 187(').
The writer visited Fort Ross twenty-seven
years ago, when the palisade walls of the en-
closure were still in good preservation, as also
the buildings within, together with the (ireek
ehapel and hectagonal block-houses described
above by Duliant Cilly. As even then the
country from Bodega to the Guaiala River was
comparatively unsettled by Americans, we will
liere introduce our description of the trip as it
appeared under the caption of '-Editorial Jot-
tings by the Wayside," in the Anjv-s of July
30, 1861:
" Leaving Petaluma in the afternoon, a few
hours' ride brought us to Blooinfield, where we
were greeted by numerous friends; and accepted
the liospitality of our old friend W. B. Wood,
of the firm of Wood it .\rthur. It is hardly
necessary to inform our readers that this flour-
ishing village is located in the center of Big
Valley, and that the valley and upland sur-
rounding is very prolific in its yield of cereals,
' spuds,' and Republicans. A dress parade, in
the evening, of a company of youthful zouaves,
who marched to music extracted from a tin can,
convinced us that the martial spirit of that vil-
lage was thoroughly aroused, and that with such
a home-guard Blooinfield can bid defiance to
Davis and his emissaries.
"At an early hour in the morning, we were
galloping down the valley in the direction of
Bodega Corners. On either side of the road.
and as far as the eye could scan, was one unin-
terrupted vista of grain fields, in every stage of
harvesting, from the gavels that were drop]iing
from the reapers that were clattering on every
hand, up to the shock in the field or the new
made stack in the barnyartl. Bodega Corners
is on the Smith grant, and consists of a iiotel,
two stores, a Catholic church, blacksmith shop,
etc. After passing the Corners we were with-
out chart or compass, having entered upon a
region by us une.xplored. For several miles our
course lay along Salmon Creek, the road in
many places being arched over by the tangled
wildvvood through which it was cut; then taking
a bridle trail leading over a mountain that over-
looked the deep blue ocean, we followed its zig-
zag windings to the month of the Russian
River. Here we performed a feat only second
to that of Moses and his followers crossing the
Red Sea with dry sandals: the sea swell iiaving
cast up a barrier of sand across the mouth of
the river, forming a bridge upon which we
crossed, without our steed dipping his feet in
water. He evidently regarded it as a dangerous
undertaking, for every time the surf, after re-
ceding as if to gather strength, would come
rolling up hissing and seething, narrowing the
space down to fifteen or twenty feet between the
deep river on the one hand and the briny deep
on the other, he would attempt to take the back
track, apparently having lost all confidence in
either our prudence or judgment. Across the
river, our course lay along the coast; and as
Fort Ross was twelve miles distant, without a
liuman habitation intervening, we whiled away
the hours by noting the ever-varying land8ca])e
or watching tlie surf as it broke in a long line
of white spray against the rock-bound coast; or
anon the eye would be relieved by the appear-
ance of a coaster, with fullrspread canvas,
gliding over the billows with the grace of a sea
gull. Passing over a spur of the mountain
clothed with a heav}' forest of redwood and fir,
we entered an opening from whence we looked
down upon Fort Ross, on the level plain below.
" Before proceeding further, it may not«be
IW^TonY OF SONOMA OOUNTT.
out of place to inroiiii niir reiiders tliat Fort
Koss was tuiiiidcd soiiiu lil'ty years ago by Rus-
sian!-, who settled at that point for the pui'pose
of capturing sea otter; which pursuit they fol-
lowed for perhaps twenty years. Aside from
the fort buildings, enclosed by a higli and sub-
stantial palisade wall over one hundred yards
square, there was, at one period, some sixty
dwellings; but they have crumi)leil and passed
away. After tliey left this coast, the property
changed hands several times; but was purchased
by the present proprietor, Mr. Bennitz, eight-
een years ago, and he has been in occupation
ever since.
''As we descended the slope toward the Fort
we felt as if approaching a spot entitled to a
prominent place in the antiquity of our State.
The Greek churcli of Russian architecture that
forms one corner of the quadrangle; the two-
story hectagonal sentry-house of solid hewn
tiinlier, forming the diagonal corners of the pali-
sade, and witli loop-lioles for cannon and small
arms; and the massive gates wliicli protect the
front entrance; conjured up to our mind con-
jectures of the scenes of which it was the
theater, long, long years ago.
'• Having a letter of introduction to Mr.
I'ennitz, we dismounted, and the ponderous
gate yielded to our pressure and swung back
creaking upon its rusty liinges. All the ap-
pointments inside were in keeping with those
without; strength and durability predominating
over tlie ornamental. The substantial dwelling,
the outhouses ranged around tlie square, the
well in the center, the four huge mastitis of the
St. Bernard and Newfoundland l)reed that
fondled around us as we approached the dwell-
ing, completed a picture that came nearer our
conception of the surroundings of some of the
old feudal barons than anytliing we ever expe-
rienced before. AVe presented our letter to Mr.
Hennitz, wlio is a very intelligent German, and
iu! at once extended to us the hospitality of iiis
mansion. Mr. liennitz lives in a woi'ld by
himself; iiaving a domain that extends from
the moutli of Russian River, eighteen miles up
the coast, and untenanted except by liis raijueros,
who are stationed at various points to take care
of his stock. His isolated position deprives his
children of the advantages of a public school;
but to atone for this lie has employed a private
teacher, competent to impart instruction in both
the English and (ilerman languages.
" Refreshed by our night's sojourn at Fort Ross
wo continued on our journey up the coast. The
first place worthy of note above the Fort is
Timber Cove. Here, our late fellow-townsman
Mr. KalkitKin,is located, and in company with Mr.
Snaple, owns a mill which is turning out aljout
25,000 feet of lumber every twenty-four iiuurs.
Two schooners were taking in cargoes of lumber
for San Francisco market. The [)roprietoi-s
have constructed a substantial railway extending
from the mill half a mile up the canon, down
which they bring saw-logs on a car.
Four miles above Timber Cove we passed
Salt Point. Duncan's mill used to be located at
this place; but has been removed to a point two
miles distant from the mouth of Russian River,
in consequence of which this Point has lost
considerable of its importance, as is manifest
by its group of tenantless houses; but its qnarry
of excellent stone, considerable of wliich is be-
ing shipped to the navy yards at Mai-e Island,
may give new vigor to the place.
" b'our miles beyontl Salt Point we passed
Fisk's mill. This mill cuts about S,000 feet of
lumber daily. Its supply of timiier is inex-
haustible; and we hope its proprietors may reap
the rich reward wliich their enterprise merits.
" I'y noon we had reached a distance of twen-
ty miles above Fort Ross, and we stopped for
refreshments at the Ranch House of Dealer, the
claimant of the German grant. Here is a
stretch of plain extending np and down the
coast for ten miles, that is unsurpassed in beaiitv
of location or fertility of soil anywhere between
Point Reyes and I'oint Arenas. The plain
varies from one-(|uarter to two miles in breadth,
and with just sufficient incline from the footliills
to the beach to afford a splendid sea view. The
mountains borderinii; it arc er)\'ered with a
31
HISTORY OF SONOifA COpNTY.
perfect wildt-riiess of forest, of incalculable
value.
"Ten miles more had to be traversed up the
coast before we turned our face homeward; and
Chris. Stingle, of the Hauch House, volunteered
to act as our guide and companion. AVe were
soon dashing pellniell over the plain up the
coast; Chris, in the meantime entertaining us
by relating hunting adventures and pointing out
spots where he liad killed elk, bear, or other
game of lesserconsequence. Five miles brought
us to the crossing of the Gualala Kiver, where
we entered Mendocino County. Here the
mountains closed in upon the beach, and timber
stood so close upon the brink that if uprooted
it would fall in the surf lielow. Up to this
point we had found the roads and trails reasona-
bly good, but those five miles from the Gualala
to Fish Rock were the concentrated essence of
break-neck roads. Deep gorge after gorge lay
athwart our way, and in many places a false step
would have precipitated both horse and rider
down to certain destruction. Before reaching
this point we had been so indiscreet as to inform
our companion that we had had considerable
equestrian experience, and as he took the lead
and did not dismount, a sense of honor prompted
us to remain in the saddle even at the risk of
our neck.
"At Fish Rock there is a mill in process of
erection, in which will be placed the machinery
formerly used in the Perkins mill, Bodega.
This is a good location, thei-e being an inex-
haustible supply of good timber and a secure
harbor for vessels to lay while receiving cargoes
of lumber.
" We returned to the Ranch House that night,
and as tired as we were, we did ample justice to
the bachelor fare of Chris, and his two com-
panions. In the morning we were in saddle
bright and earl}', and accompanied by our com-
panion of the previous day, who accompanied
us several miles on our return, started on our
way down the coast. We had rode about two
miles when the practiced eye of Chris, spied
a grey fox between us and the beach. It allowed
us to approach within forty paces, when a shot
from our revolver warned it to seek safety in the
chapjjarel on the foot-hills half a mile distant.
The chase across the level plain was spirited
.and exciting, our horses seeming to enjoy the
sport, strained every nerve to overhaul his fox-
ship, and succeeded several times in doing so
and attempted to jump upon him, but with the
cunning, characteristic of his tribe, by tacking
and doubling he finally outgeneraled us and
reached cover. So ended our fox chase. A few
miles further un we parted with our companion
and continued on our course down the coast
alone. At night-fall we were again welcomed
to the hospitality of the Fort Ross mansion.
The next day being the Sabbath, the rest for
which it was set apart was needed by both our-
self and our jaded horses, but as circumstances
rendered our immediate return necessary, we bade
our host and his excellent lady good-by at eight
o'clock in the morning and at eight o'clock in
the evening arrived in Petaluma, having rode
forty-five miles mostly over a very mountainous
country."'
At the time of our visit to Fort Ross above
described, Mr. Bennitz related to us many thrill-
ing adventures in connection with his residence
there. Some years later we wrote a series of
California sketches entitled "Wayside Memo-
ries" and one of the sketches under the caption
of " A Random Shot"' was a recital of an occur-
rence near Fort Ross, as related to us by Bennitz.
We reproduce it here:
"Said Mr. Bennitz: 'At the time 1 purchased
the Fort Ross property there were around and
in the neighborhood of the Fort a large num-
ber of Indians. Voluntarily they have become
almost a part of the estate and as obedient to
my orders as if mind, soul and body. I then
raised a large amount of grain, and had thou-
sands oi' head of cattle, which gave me ample
opportunity to utilize the labor of these untu-
tored aborigines. As my influence over them
mainly depended on the kindness and considera-
tion with which they were treated, I let no
opportunity pass to give them evidence of my
ffTSTORT OF SONOMA COUNTY.
regard Inr tlifir plunMiiu and welfare. They,
like all Indians 1 know ul', were passionately
fund of personal decoration, and for ornamenta-
tion prized nothini;- more higlily than the plu-
mage of birds. Ono tlay my Indians wei-e noticing
some vultures, or ('alifornia condors, on the
pine trees some distance up the mountain side
back of the Fort, and 1 overheard them express-
ing a wisii that they had some of the feathers.
"■Saying nothing I quietly took my gun and
sallied forth, determined if possibe to gratify
their desire. i>y tackino; backward and forward
along the mountain side I gradually worked my
way up to the trees where the vultures were.
The heavy foliage of the pines prevented my
getting a ready view of the game I was seeking.
With my gun cocked and the muzzle pointing up
I was moving cpiietly side- wise with eyes peer-
ing into the canopy of l)oughs, when I was
startled by tlie breaking of a stick close to my
right.
" ' (_)ne look was enough to set every hair of
my head on end I Not much over the length of
my gun from me stood, erect on its hind feet, a
grizzly bear of monster size — at the time he
seemed to me ten feet high! By impulse, I
wheeled, brought my gun to a level, and with-
out any attempt at taking aim, fired. The bear
pitched forward upon me and we fell together —
my gun flying out of ray hands, and some dis-
tance away. I was frightened beyond the power
of language to express. The bear and I had
fallen together, but I had given myself a rolling
lurch down the mountain which, for the moment,
took rae out of the reach of his dreaded jaws.
This advantage w;is not to be lost; and 1 kept
going over and over without any regard to
elegance of posture, until I had got at least two
hundred yards from where 1 fi'll; and when I
stopped rolling it was a problem with me which
I was most, dead or alive.
'"1 ventured upon my feet and looked cauti(jus-
ly around, but could see no grizzly. To borrow a
miner'sexpression, 'I began prospecting around.'
I had an earnest desire to get hold of my gun,
but a dislike to the neigjliborhood in which we
had parted company. With the utmost caution
I woi'ked my way up to a position overlooking
the s|)ot where 1 and the grizzly together fell.
To my surpiise, and gratification as well, there
lay the bear stretched at full length, and dead.
My random shot had proved what seldom occurs
to grizzly bears, a dead shot. That,' said Mr.
Bennitz, knocking the ashes out of an elegant
meerschaum, 'was the biggest scare of my
life.' ■•
AVhile we have carried our chapter descrip-
tive of Ross beyond the limits of Russian occu-
pation we feel warranted, on account of its
historic surroundings, in tracing its history to a
conclusion in this chapter. As already stated,
William Eennitz sold the Ross property in 1867,
Charles Fairfax and a man named Dixon being
the purchasers. They managed the property
for a few years, when Fairfax died. In winding
up the estate and business of the firm it became
necessary to sell the property. J. W. Call be-
came the purchaser of the upper and much the
larger proportion of the ranch, on which stands
the old Fort Ross buildings; and of the south-
erly end Aaron Schroyer bought a large 'tract.
These gentlemen are practical in their ideas of
business and the property is now so handled as
to yield a profit. After a lapse of twenty-seven
years we visited Ross in October, 1888. We
found a great change from conditions as thev
were when Dennitz lived there. Through the
very center of the grounds once enclosed Iiy a
heavy stockade, now a county road runs. The
Bennitz residence is converted into a public
hotel, and a building once used as quarters for
Russian officers is now a saloon. In an outside
building is a store and postotficc. The towers
in what was the diagonal corners of the fortress
are now roofless, and, in consequence? of the
worm-eaten condition of the K>gs are canting
over, and it is only a (picstion of time when
they will topple to the ground. The (ireek
chapel yet stands erect with roof and belfry in
fair preservation; but is no longei- used for holy
purposes. Even the Russian cemetery to the
south of the fort, that was quite plainly visible
uiarour of ho^^/oma vounty.
twenty-seven years ago is now nearly obliter-
ated. Accompanied by Mr. Call we visited the
old liiissian orchard half a mile back from the
fort. Tiie fence made of heavy split boards by
the liussians is still in fair preservation. We
entered and plucked Spanish bellflower apples
from trees planted by the Russians, back of
1820. -The twenty or thirty apple, plum and
prune trees yet standing are moss-covered and
their bark honey-combed by the busy bills of
birds. AVe went back still further and took a
walk through the redwood forest of new growth
that has sprung up from stumps of trees first
cut by the liussians when tiiey settled at lloss.
><'ot over half a dozen of the old redwood forest
trees are standing in the grove, and but for
the fact that the stumps are there yet from
whicli the present forest sprang, we should not
have recognized it as a forest growth of the
present century. The trees have made mai'vel-
ous growth. Having a pocket rule with us we
measured a tree that was four and a half feet in
diameter; and we were assured by Mr. Call that
there were trees in the grove full live feet in
diameter. This grove is, doubtless, of from
.sixty to seventy-live years' growth. We are
thus e.xact and explicit in reference to this forest
of new growth because we know there is a wide-
spread fear that in consequence of the rajjidity
with which our redwood forests are being con-
verted into lumber, that species of timber will
ultimately become extinct. Kight there, uver-
shadowing old Fort IJoss, is the refutation (.if
such fallacy.
ITTt^TORr OP SONOMA COUNTY.
3t
me::!co urges colonisati north of m mim.
•r^r^ ,J-, 1J ^r ^i^rrzrr^Torr;^^^ ^^-^-^ ^'^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^ jjIzrp^J^rt J^ ^^-^^;
:#%:I-%:J5^
CHAPTER V
CtOVKRNoK FkuKROA, IX ORF.niKNCE Til IXr^TRrrTIi iXS FROM MkXICO SETS ON FOriT A COI.OXIZATION
KNTERl'RISK ATTEMPT TO ESTABLISH SETTLEMENTS AT PeTALL'MA AND SaNTA KoSA IN 1833
THE ATTEMPT AT SaXTA RoSA FAILED IN 1835 SoNOMA MAS LAID OUT AS A PAT.LO AND MADE THE
CENTER 01' MILITARY POWER AND SECULAR COLONIZATION NORTH uF THE 1!AY YaLLE.Ki AlTHiiR-
IZED TO OFFER COLONISTS GRANTS OF LAND VaLLE.TO BECOJIES A ci iXTRi )LI.INU PI)\VE1£ IX THE
NORTH HE MAKES AN ALLIANCE WITH InDIAN ChIEF SoLANO, AND HOLDS ALL nTHER JxDIAN
TRIBES IN SUIi.IEi TIuN UNDER HIS MANAGEMENT THE MISSION SaN FraNCISCO SolANO WAS
SKCUr.ARIZED IN 1884-'0 AND THE I'ROl'ERTY DISTRIBUTED AMONG THE NEOPHYTES — THE IxDIANS
M'ERE FREED FROM MISSION RULE AND MANY WENT BACK 10 THEIR TRIBES — YaLLE.10 HAD Id WAR
WITH SOME OF THE InDIAN TRIBES OCCASIONALLV, BIT THEV USUALLY WERE GLAD T(i EXTICR INTO
AND ABIDE BY TREATY STIPULATIONS — IN 1838 THE SMALL-POX GOT AMONG THE IxDIAXS AXD THOU-
SANDS DIED — ALONG IN THESE YEARS ValLE.IO SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN ALLOWED TO MAINTAIN THE
SiiXOMA MILITARY AT HIS ciWX EXPENSE.
fCHEAUDIA had become Governor of
California by appointment of the Mexican
(Tovernment. He was ordered as early as
in 1827 to establish a fort on the northern
frontier, either at San Rafael or San Francisco
Solano. The presence of the Russians at Ross
doubtle.-s inspired this order, and then such a
post would not only be a notice to those Mus-
covites that they must not venture further
south, but would be a source of security and
protection to the newly founded missions as
well. The (Tovernor had no funds to put in
successful execution the order. The next year
he seems to have ordered a i-econnoissance for a
suitable place for a military station, but nothing
further was done at that time.
The years had sped; (Jalifornia was rent with
internal disoord: the old missions Jiad been
looted until they were fast going to ruin, and
on the 14th of January, 1833, Figueroa arrived
at Monterey, the newly appointed (Tovernor.
To evolve order out of chaos seemed to lie his
high resolve. B^igueroa liad received special
instructions from the Mexican Government to
push occupation and settlement of the northern
frontier with energy. In obedience to these
instructions Alferez Vallejo was ordered to
make an exploration, select a site, and offer land
to settlers. To aid in this work the old missions
were exjiected to bear the principal expense.
Either through inability or flagging zeal in be-
half ol' ;i government that was always impecuni-
ous, the padres did not respond to this new levy
upon their resources. Vallejo, in obedience to
orders, made a tour to IJodega and Ross. Tiiat
fall Vallejo made an attempt to esta!)lisb scttU'-
UlSTOliY Ub' liONOMA COUNT Y.
ments at Petaluma and Santa Rosa. Bancroft
says: "Ten heads of families, tifty persons in
all, agreed to settle at the former place (Peta-
luma), hitherto unoccupied; but the padre at
San Francisco Solano, hearing of the project,
sent a few men to build a hut and place a band
of horses at that point in order to estalilish a
claim to the land as mission property. Two or
three of the settlers remained and put in crops
at Petaluma, Yallejo himself having ten bushels
of wheat sown on his own account. The padre's
representatives also remained, and the respective
.claims were left to be settled in the future.
Much the same thing seems to have been done
at Santa Rosa, where a few settlers went, and to
which point the padre sent two neophytes with
some hogs as the nucleus of a mission claim. All
this before January 8, 1834:. In his speech of May
1st to the deputacion, Figueroa mentioned the
plan for northern settlement, but said nothing
to indicate that any actual progress had been
made. Tlie 14tli of May, however, he sentenced
a criminal to serve out his term of punishment
at the new establishment about to be founded
at Santa Rosa. In June the rancho of Petaluma
was granted by the (xovernor to Yallejo, and the
grant approved by the deputacion, this being
virtually an end of the mission claim. Respect-
ing subsequent developments of 1834r-'5 in the
Santa Rosa Valley, the records are not satisfac-
tui'v; but Figueroa, hearing of tiie approach of
a colony from Mexico, resolved to malce some
preparations for its reception, and naturally
thought of the northern estalilishment, which
he resolved to visit in person. All that we
know positively of the trip is that he started
late in August, extended his tour to Ross, e.x-
amined the country, selected a site, and having
left a small force on the frontier, returned to
Monterey the 12th of September. To these
facts there may be added, as probal)ly accurate,
the statements of several Californians, to the
effect that the site selected was where Vallejo's
settlement and Solano neophytes had already
erected some rude Imildings, that the new place
was named Santa Anna y Farias, in hitnur of the
President and Vice-President of Mexico, and
that the settlement was abandoned the next
year, because the colonists refused to venture
into a country of hostile Indians."
The scheme of founding a frontier post at or
near Santa Rosa seems to have proved a failure;
at least the next move with that end in view
was in the direction of Sonoma, where the
mission San Francisco Solano had already run
its course under ecclesiastical rule, and was then
in process of secularization under the manage-
ment of M. G. Vallejo as cominissionado. This
failure of the attempted estalilishment of a
settlement at Santa Rosa by Governor Figueroa,
in the face of the fact that eleven years previous
Altimira, taking his life in his hand, had estab-
lished a mission at Sonoma, inclines us to take
off our hat in reverence to that padre, although
his zeal may, at times, have befogged his better
judgment. History should be both impartial
and just, and the records unmistakably show
that the Catholic missionaries had occupied the
field embracing the main portion of Sonoma
County at least ten years Ijefore the military
and civil authorities exercised dominion here.
Figueroa still adhered to his policy of establish-
ing a frontier settlement and garrison north uf
San Francisco Bay.
The following, the letter of instruction to
Gen. M. G. Vallejo from Governor Jose Fig-
ueroa in relation to the locating and governing
of "a village in the valley of Sonoma," was
transmitted only a few njonths before that (Jov-
ernor's death:
" POLITICAI. GOVEKXMENTOF LFl'ER CALIFORNIA .
" Comma ml ancy- General of Upper California.
" Monterey, June 24, 1835.
" In conformity with the orders and instruc-
tions issued by the Supreme Government of the
Confederation respecting the location of a village
in the valley of Sonoma, this cominandancy
urges upon you that, according to the topo-
graphical plan of the place, it be divided into
quarters or squares, seeing that the streets and
jil(i~af; be regulated so as to make a beginning.
The inhal>itants are to be governed entirely by
HISTORY OP SONOMA COUNTY.
39
said plan. This govennnciit ami coiiuuandancy
approves entire!}' of the lines designated by you
for outlets — recognizing, as the property of the
village and public lands and privileges, the
boundaries of 1 Vt;iliini;i, Agna Culienta, Tlan-
chero de Iluertica, l.ena ile Sur, Salvador,
Vallejo, and La Vernica, on the north of the
city of Sonoma, as the limits of its property,
rights, and privileges — requesting that it shall
be commenc-ed immediately around the hillj
where the fortification is to be erected, to pro-
tect the inhabitants from incursions of the
savages and all others. In order that the build-
ing lots granted by you, as the person charged
with colonization, may be fairly portioned, you
will divide each square (inanzana) into four
parts, as well for the location of each as to in-
terest persons in the planting of kitchen gar-
dens, so that every one shall have a hundred
yards, more or less, which the government deems
suttioient; and farther, lots of land may be
granted, of from one hundred and fifty to two
hundred yards, in openings for outlets, for
other descriptions of tillage, subject to the laws
and regulations on the sidiject, in such manner
that at all times the uiunicipality shall possess
the legal title.
This government and commandancj'-general
otters yon thanks for your efforts in erecting
this new city, which will secure the frontier of
the republic, and is contident that you will make
new efforts for the national entirety.
"(iod and liberty. Juse Frot'KKOA.
" I)i)n 1\[. (-1. A'am.k.io, Military (Jommandante
and Director (if C'lildiii/CMtion im the Northern
Fnmtier.'"
Under these instructions Vallejo proceeded to
lay out and found the pueblo, giving to it the
Indian name of Sonoma. From this act virtu-
ally dates the real Mexican occupancy of Sonoma
(jounty under military and civil rule. There is
but little of record during the balance of 1825,
anil for 1826 the most important mention is
that Vallejo, in conjunction with Chief Solano,
went on an exj>edition to punish the rebellions
Yolos. And right here it is in place to record
the fact that this Chief Solano seems to have
been a ruler among the Indian tribes in every
direction. General Vallejo's language to us
was, " Solano was a king among the Indians.
All the tribes of Solano, Napa and Sonoma were
under tribute to him." Vallejo made a treaty
with Solano and seems to have found in him a
valuable lieutenant in all his futui'e dealings
with neighl)oring Indians. Now that a pueblo
had been established at Sonoma with Vallejo as
commandante of this northern district, it had
become an important factor in the Territorial
government of California. Vallejo was then in
the full vigor of young life, tired with the ambi-
tion of those who believed that to them belonged
a liberal share of the management and rule in
Territorial government, and his somewhat
isolated position, which necessitated his exercise,
at times, of almost autocratic power, placed him
in a position to be courted by those even in
higher authority. That he should use his
power for self-aggrandizement, within certain
limits, was but natural. With his complicity
in the revolutions and counter revolutions that
in rapid succession were making and deposing
California governors, forms no part of the scope
of this history, and we shall only follow his acts
in their Ijearings upon the future of Sonoma
County. With Vallejo there seems to have
been two dominant ideas, and both had founda-
tion in good, practical sense. The tirst was
that the Indians had to be subjected to a strong
hand, and when so subjected, they were to l)e
the subjects of protection and justice. The
second was that the greatest danger to continued
]\Iexiean supremacy in California was from the
eastward. While there may have been a degree
of selfishness and jealousy to inspire it, he was
none the less correct in his judgment that the
Sutter establishment at New Helvetia was a
center around which clustered dangers imt
properly appreciated by the (Jalifornia govern-
ment at IVIouterey. While he failed to arouse
the authorities to the magnitude of the danger,
he at least discharged his duty as an (illicer of
UlsToUy of liONOMA aoUNTY.
that government. Tlie triitli was tliat Sutter,
after lie transfen-ed to Jlelvetia the armament
of Ross was becoming a "power behind the
tlirone greater tiian the throne itself," and
Vallejo could not be blind to the fact that it
was liable to prove a "Trojan horse with belly
full of armed destruction '' to the future rule
of Mexico in California. In the waning days of
the rule of Micheltorena, Sutter had been
clothed with power which almost rendered him
potentate of the Sacramento Valley, and as his
establishment was the iirst to be reached by
immigration from the east, that year by year
was increasing in volume, he did not fail to
improve his opportunity to add to the strength
of his surroundings.
Although somewhat out of chronological
order it is in place to follow the mission of San
Francisco Solano to its end. Bancroft says:
" Father Fortuni served at San Francisco Solano
until 1833, when liis place was taken by the Za-
cuteean, Josi- de Jesus Maria Gutierrez, who in
turn changed places in March, 183i, with Pa-
lire Lorenzo Qiiijas of San Francisco. Quijas
remained in charge of ex-mission and pueblo as
acting curate throughout the decade, but resided
for the most part at San Rafael. Tiiough the
neophyte population, as indicated by the reports,
decreased from 7*50 to (550 in 1834 and 550 in
1835, yet there was a gain in live-stock and but
a slight falling off in crops; and the establish-
ment must be regarded as having Honrished
down to the date of secularization, being one of
the ^tiw missiolis in California which reached
tlieir iiighest population in the final decade,
though this was natural enough in a new and
frontier mission. Mariano C Vallejo was made
commissionado in 1834, and in 1835-'6, with
Antonio Ortega as majordomo, completed the
secularization. Movable property was distribu-
ted to the Indians, who were made entirely
free, many of them retiring to their old ranche-
rias. A little later, however, in consequence ot
troubles with hostile gentiles, the ex-neophytes
seem to have restored their live-stock to the
care of Ceneral Vallejo, who iii^od th(^ property
of the ex-mission for their benefit and protec-
tion, and for the general development of the
northern settlement. The General claimed that
this was a legitimate use of the estate: and he
would have established a new mission in the
north if the padres wouhl have aiiled him.
Doubtless his policy was a wise one, even if his
position as guardian of the Indians in charge
of their private property jiut by them in his
care was not recognized b^' the laws. Moreover,
there was a gain rather than a loss in live-stock.
Thus the mission community haj no real exist-
ence after 183)), though Pablo Ayula and Sal-
vador Vallejo were nominally made administra-
tors. The visitador made no visits in 1839, and
apparently none were made in 1840. I suppose
there may have been 100 of the ox-neophytes
living at Sonoma at the end of the decade, with
perhaps 500 more in the I'cgion not relajised
into barbarism."' And here ends the career of
the mission San Francisco Solano. If its san-
guine founder, Padre Altimira, could revisit it,
and the old San Francisco mission tliat he
thought was •• on its last legs " he wouhl learn
how fallible is human judgment.
Sonoma was now a pueblo and (Tcneral M. G.
Vallejo, ascommandante of the northern district,
the most conspicuous personage in this latitude
until the end of Mexican i-ule. As such it is
in place to introduce him more fully to the
reader. According to Bancroft "he was the
son of the ' Sargento distinguido " Jgnacio ^'al-
lejo and of .\[aria Antonia l^ugo, being, on the
paternal side at least, of pure Spanish blood,
and being entitled by the old rules to prefix the
'Don" to his name. In childhood he had been
* the associate of Alvarado and Castro at Monte-
rey, and his educational advantages, of which
he made good use, were substantially the same
as theirs. Unlike his companions, he chose a
military career, entering the Monterey company
in 1823 as a cadet, and being promoted to be
alferez of the San Francisco company in 1827.
He served as habilitado and as conimandante of
both coni|>anies, and took part in several cam-
paigns against Indians, besides acting as fiscal or
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
defensor in various military trials. In 1830 he
was elected to the depntacion, and took a promi-
nent part in the opposition of that body to Vic-
toria. In 1832 he married Francisca l^enicia.
daughter of Joquin C/arrillo, and in 1834 was
elected dipntado snjdente to Congress, lie was
a favorite of Figueroa, who gave him large tracts
of land north of the bay, choosing him as com-
niissionado to secularize San Francisco Solano,
to found the town of Sonoma, and to command
the frontier del norte. In his new position Val-
lejo was doubtless the most independent man in
California. His record was a good one, and
both in ability and experience he was probal)l3'
better fitted to take the position as command-
ante general than any other Californian." This
latter position was conferred upon Yallejo by
Alvarado, who by a turn of the revolutionary
wheel had become governor, (xeneral Vallejo
was unquestionably the right man in the right
place when he was placed in control at Sonoma
after the secularization of the mission San
Francisco Solano. As a military man he would
not brook any insubordination to his will or
commands, but in dealing with the Indians he
seems to have pursued a policy wise and just
beyond anything ever before attempted in Cali-
fornia. In the Indian Chief Solano he saw the
ready means to acquire easy control of all other
Indians occupying a wide sweep of country. In
making Solano his friend and coadjutor in keep-
ing distant tribes in respectful submission, he
seems not to have compromised himself in any
manner so as not to hold Solano himself subject
to control and accountability. Having been
speaking of the turbulence of southern Indians
for the years from 1836 to 1840 Mr. Bancroft
says: "Turning to the northern frontier we find
a diH'erent state of things. Here there was no
semblance of Apache i-aids, no sacking of
ranches, no loss of civilized life, and little col-
lision between gentile and ('hristian natives.
The northern Indians were more numerous
than in the San Diego region, and many of the
tribes were brave, warlike, and often hostile;
but there was a comparatively strong force at
Sonoma to keep them in check, and General
Vallejo's Indian policy must be regarded as
e.xcellent and effective when compared with any
other policy ever followed in California. True,
his wealth, his untrammelled power, anil other
circumstances contributed much to his success;
and he could by no means have done as well if
placed in command at San Diego; yet he must
be accredited besides with having managed
wisely. Closely allied with Solano, the Suisnn
chieftain, having always — except when asked
to render some distasteful military service to
his political associates in the south — at his com-
mand a goodly numl)er of soldiers and citizens,
made treaties with the gentile tribes, insisted
on their being liberally and justly treated when
at peace, and punished them severely for any
manifestation of hostility. Doubtless the In-
dians were wronged often enough in individual
cases by Yallejo's subordinates; some of whom,
and notably his brother Salvador, were with
dilKculty controlled; but such reports have been
greatly exaggerated, and acts of glaring injustice
were comparatively' rare.
" The Cainameros, or the Indians of Cainama,
in the region toward Santa Rosa, had been for
some years friendly, but for their services in
returning stolen horses they got themselves into
trouble with the Satiyomis, or Sotoyomes, gen-
erally known as the Guapos, or braves, who in
the sj)ring of 1836, in a sudden attack, killed
twenty-two of their number and wounded fifty.
Yallejo, on appeal of the chiefs, promised to
avenge their wrongs, and started April 1st with
fifty soldiers and one hundred Imlians besides
the Cainamero force. A battle was fought on
the 4th of April, and the Guapos, who had taken
a strong j)Osition in the hills ot the Geyser region,
were routed and driven back to their ranches,
where most of them were killed. The expedi-
tion was back at Sonoma on the 7th without
having lost a man, killed or wounded. On June
7th Yallejo conchuled a treaty of peace and
alliance with the chiefs of seven tribes — the
Indians of Yoloytoy, (iuilitoy, Ansatoy, Ligna-
ytoy, Aclutoy, Chnmptoy and the Guaiios, who
4-2
ItlSTORT OF SONOMA COUNT T.
had voluntarily come to Sonoma for that pur-
pose. Tlie treaty provided tliat tiiere sliould l)e
friendsliip between tlie trii)es and tlie garrison,
that the Cainauieros and Guapos should live at
peace and respect each otiier's territory; that tlie
Indians shonid give np all fngitive Cluijstians
at the request of the commandante, and that
they should not hurn the fields. It does not
appear that Vallejo in return promised anything
more definite than friendship. Twenty days
later the compact was approved by Governor
Chico. A year later, in June, 1837, Zampay,
one of the chieftains of the Yoloytoy — town and
rancheria of the Yoloy, perhaps meaning of
the 'tnles,' and which gave the name to Yolo
County — became troublesome, committing many
outi-ages and trying to arouse the Sotoyomes
again. The head chief of the tribe, however,
named Moti, offered to aid in his capture, whicli
was effect'ed by the combined forces of Solano
and Salvador Yallejo. Zampay and some of
his companions were held at first as captives at
Sonoma, but after some years the chief, who had
been a terror of the whole country, liecame a
peiiceful citizen and industrious farmer."'
"In January, 1838, Tobias, chief of the
Gnilicos, and one of his men were brought to
Sonoma and tried for the murder of two Indian
fishermen. In March some of the gentile allied
tribes attacked the Moquelumnes, recovered a
tew stolen horses and brought them to Soijoma,
wliere a grand feast was held for a week to cele-
brate their good deeds. In August fifty Indian
horse-thieves crossed the Sacrainento and ap-
peared at Suseol with a band of tame horses,
their aim being to stampede the horses at
Sonoma. Thirty-four were killed in a Lattle
with Vallejo's men, and the rest surrendered,
the chief being shot at Sonoma for his crimes.
On October 6, Vallejo issued a printed circular,
in which he announced that Solano had grossly
abused his power and the trust placed in him,
and broken sacred compacts made with the
Indian tribes by consenting to tlie seizure and
sale of children. Vallejo indignantly denied
the rumor that these outrages had been com-
mitted with his consent, declaring that Solano
had been arrested, and that a force had been
sent out to restore all the children to their
parents." \"al]ejo's statement in regard to this
back-sliding of Chief Solano is that evil-dis-
posed persons have plyed him with liquor until
he was so dazed as not to be master of his
actions, and that after being sobered up in the
guard-house he was both ashamed and penitent.
In this year, 1838, there came a terrible
pestilence, the small-pox, which made sad havoc
among the Indians. It is said that a Corporal
named Ygnacio lliramontes contracted the dis-
ease at Fort Koss and i-eturning to Sonoma the
disease was soon broadcast among the Indians.
General Vallejo is our authority that the In-
dians died by the thousands. He thinks that
not less than 75,000 died in the territory north
of the bay and west of the Sacramento River.
In some cases it almost blotted tribes out of ex-
istence. The Indian panacea for all ills was
resort to the sweat-house, supplemented by a
plunge in cold water. Such being their remedy,
it may well be believed that the small-pox left
desolation in its track. Mr. John TValker, of
Sebastopol, states that when he reached the
Yount rancho, iXapa County, in 18-1(5, Mr.
Yount pointed out to him an Indian girl, the
sole survivor of her tribe after the small-
pox had run its course. Yount stated that lie
visited the rancheria and that dead Indians
were lying everywhere, and the only living
being was the girl referred to, she, an infant,
was cuddled in an Indian/ basket. At Mr.
Walker's ranch is a very aged Indian, and
through an interpreter he recently informed us
that during the prevalance of the small-pox his
people at Sebastopol for a long time died at the
rate of fi'om ten to twenty a day. During the
present year (1888), while excavating earth
with which to grade a road near Sebastopol a
perfect charnel of human bones was found,
doubtless where the small-pox victims of 1838
were buried. As stated elsewhere, that pesti-
lence paved the way for peaceable occupation of
this territory liv immigrants. There were not
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
43
enough Indians left to offer any serious resist-
ance to tlie free occupancy of their former
liunting grounds by civilized !naii.
In 1830, as an evidence that colonization was
advancing northward, it is recorded that twenty-
five families had cast their lot in the northern
frontier. Some of these families, doubtless,
came with the Hijar-Padres colony that came
from Mexico in 1834. Many of those colonists
visited Sonoma — then San Francisco Solano —
but owing to political complications Hijar was
looked upon witJi suspicion, and his scheme of
founding a colony came to nanglit. It is said
that a few of his people remained north of the
bay, but most of them returned south to the
older settlements. We find I'ecord of a young
Irishman named John T. Reed locating in
Santa liosa Township, near the pi-esent place of
Robert Crane, in 1837, but who was driven out
l)y the Indians. And also the location near
Santa Rosa, in 1838, of Senora Maria Ygnacia
Lopez de ("arillo. Of the first attempt to
found a settlement at, or near Santa Rosa, there
is evidence that it pruved futile, and yet we
find little of authentic record as to the reasons
why the enterprise was abandoned, other than
that settlers did not feel secure in so advanced a
]iosition among untutored savages. We find,
also, an accredited rumor that the mission San
Francisco Solano was destroyed by the Indians a
few years after it was founded. This story must be
founded on uncertain tradition, for we have
tbund no authentic record of such an occurrence.
We have thus far, up to 1840, found little
ditliculty in tracing the lines of reliable history.
But the nearer we get to the final end which
culminated in American occupancy the more we
are befogged and in doubt of the di\ idirig line
between facts and fiction. What tin intelligent
reader will most want to kuoiv will be as to the
actual settlement and occupancy of' Sonoma
County by Californians prior to the raising of
the Bear Hag at Sonoma. If we take as our
guide the various Spanish grants and the dates
of their reputed occupancy there was but little
ot the arable laud of the county that was not
already the habitation of civilized man; and yet
we find but little tangible evidence of such
advanced conditions of civilization. Vallejo
had, with great enterprise and labor, reai'ed an
establishment on the Petaluma grant that even
yet stands as a monument to his energy and
enterprise. The Corrillos had made lasting
improvements at Santa Rosa and Sebasto])ol.
Mark West had established himself at the creek
that bore his name, and had erected substantial
adobe buildings. Henry D. Fitch had reared
buildings of permanency on Russian River,
near the jjresent site of Ilealdsburg; Captain
Stephen Smith had established a residence and
mill at Bodega, and Jasper Ofurrell had made
a good show of permanent occupancy at his
place in the red woods. Fort Ross had now
passed into the hands of William Eennitz, and
was an establishment of comparative ancient
date. Outside of the evidence of occupancy
thus enumerated, except those of Sonoma \a\-
ley, there wei-e only a few, and they of so transi-
tory and ephemeral in character as almost to
have jiassed from the memory of our pioneer
American inhabitants. For a time Sonoma
had been I'egarded as an important frontier mil-
itary station by the California government, and
seems to have received some fostering care and
assistance, but dniing later years the govern-
ment seems to have acted on the princii)le that,
as Vallejo had all the glor^' of defending the
frontier, he could do it at his own expense, lie
seems to have, in time, tired of this expensive
luxury. Bancroft says: "The ])residial com-
pany in 1841-'43, and probably down to its dis-
bandment by Vallejo in 1844, had between forty
and fifty men under the command of Lieut.
Jose Antonio Pico; and there were besides
nearly sixty men lit for militia duty, to say
nothing of an incidental mention by the alcalde
of 100 citizens in his jurisdiction. ('aptain
Salvador Vallejo was commandante of the post
and no civil authority was recognized down to
the end of 1843, from which time municipal
affairs were directed l)y two alcaldes, Jacob P.
Leese and Jose de la Rosa, holding successively
44
HISTORY OF SONOMA COVNTT
t.lie first alcaldia." Tims, it will be seen, tliat
there was virtually only two years of civil rule
here previous to the Bear Flag revolution.
AVliile "N'allejo still had an armament embracing
nine cannon of small caliber, and, perhaps, two
hundred muskets, yet the whole military estab-
lishment seems to have been in a condition of
" innocuous desuetude." The only notable event
of local importance in 1845 was a raid, seem-
ingly made by Sonoma rancheros. upon the
Ross Indians to secure laborers. Several In-
dians were killed and loU were eaptint.d.
William Hennitz complained of outrages coni-
•mitted on the Indians at his rauclio. That
such matters were made the subject of court
investigation shows that civil authority was l)e-
ginning to assert itself. The leading offenders
in this last instance of Indian mention under
Mexican rule, were Antonio Castro and Rafael
fxarcia. AVe have now reached the beginning
of tlie end of ^Vfexifan rule, the conclusion of
which will be found in the next chapter.
HltiTORT OF SONOMA COUNTY.
Cn AFTER VI.
Mexican kii.k ix Cafjimibma xeakink its knu — tiik Califuknia lkadkrs (,iuakkei,in(. amcuMt
TUKJ[SEI.\ES — WAK EXl-Et TEU BETWEEN THE UnITEU StATES AXU MeXICO AMERICANS IN CaLI-
KORNIA IN a riflCEISIl rOSITION WHAT L\ K'KIN WAS EXPECTED TO HO -WHAT P'uMoNT DID DO
Bancroft's instructions to Commodore Sloat — Vallejo — Sutter — Fremont and Gilles-
riE TIIEIK MEETING AND THE MIDXIUII r ATTACK RY IxDIANS FrEMoXt's RETURN DOWN THE
Sacramento Valley — the Americans naturally (;atiierei) around hiji — the settlers ripe
FOR action THEY CAPTURE A BAND OF HORSES BELON(;IX<i TO GENERAL CaSTRO- -THEY INCREASE
THEIR FORCE, AND FOUR DAY'S LATER, CAl'TUKED SoNoMA WHO THE REVOLUTIONISTS WERE AS FAR
AS THEIR NAMES ARE KNOWN ALL ABOUT THE CAPIURE OF VaLLE.Io AND OTHERS IloW IT WAS
DONE — -WHAT TRANSPIRED DURING THE NEGOTIAITOXS BEIWEEN THE REYOLUTIONISTS AXD I'RIsox-
ERS — THE PRISONERS JOURNEY TO SacRAMENTO — HOW RECEIVED AND TREATED I!Y FrEMi 'NT.
N historic events like that of the taliiiig of
Sonoma and the hoisting of the bear flag,
we naturally expect to Unci some continuity
of antecedent causes leading up to the occur-
rence. Iiut that great event stands out, in Ijold
relief, a conspicuous exception to the rule. Like
Topsy who averred " I was not born'd — 1 jes
growed up," the 15ear Flag party seemed to be
■laboring under equal perplexity as to their or-
igin and ultimate destiny. The happy outcome
of their venture can be compressed into the sin-
gle sentence, "All is well, that ends well."
Search and sift history as we may there can be
found no authentic connection between the
little band of adventurers and any responsible
United States authority. There has been a great
deal said and written upon the subject that
inclines the casual reader of history to believe
that the taking of Sonoma was but the first act
in a well matured j)hiu which was to ultiiiiate
in placing California under the stars and
stripes of the United States; but wu tiiul noth-
ing to warrant such conclusion. The majority
of the bear flag party were frontiersmen witii
more nerve than education and to believe them
capable of carrying out to a successful conclu-
sion the secret orders of United States Govern-
ment authorities, and never after disclosing the
same, would be too great a tax upon even ex-
treme credulity. It is true. General Fremont
had been in California for some time, ostensibly
at the head of a scientiflc expedition, but with
a force at his back ample to render secure his
travels while here, but till now it has never been
revealed that he was clothed by the govern-
ment that he represented with any powers of a
revolutionary character. While his attitude
had been defiant of California authority and
46
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
liis hoisting of the American flag on Gabilan
I'eak, ahiiost in sight of the California capita],
a l)old affront to Castro, California's military
chieftain, yet there is no evidence, as yet, that
his acts were otlier than the efl'ervescence of an
individual disposed to magnify the importance
of his mission. The ettects of Fremont's acts
were' two-fold. The Californians believing him
to he acting under instructions from his govern-
ment, iiatui'ally believed that he was here for
the purpose of fomenting a revolutionary spirit
among foreigners resident here, and they were
more disposed than ever to enforce the laws
priihibitoryof indiscriminate immigration. The
American settlers finding themselves more and
more the objects of suspicion by the California
authorities, luiturally took it for granted that as
Fremont had l)een the instrninent of inciting
the authorities to a more rigid enforcement
against them of existing immigration laws, lie
knew what he was about, and would stand by
them if tronble came.
Aside trom the fact tluit all knew that war
was imminent between the United States and
Mexico, California was rent and torn by internal
discord. The Territorial government had ever
been, at best, a weak one, but during the past
decade it had gone from bad to worse, until
chaos seemed to brood over the TeiTitory from
Sonoma to San Diego. The government was
divided; one part being administered from Los
Angeles and the other from Monterey, and each
wing in open revolt against tlie authority of the
other. In the very teeth of a threatened danger
from without, Governor Pio Pico at Los An-
geles and General Castro at Monterey were
seemingly only intent on each other's overtiirow.
The action of Fremont, already referred to, in
flaunting the stars and stripes upon Gabilan
Peak seems to have brought General Castro to
sometliing like a correct appi-eciation of the
fact that there was great need of unification
and eti'ort among California anthorities. This
he tried to impress upon Pico in the south, but
the suspicious governor saw fit to construe the
efforts of Castro to get the military upon a de-
fensive basis, into a menace to himself; and the
people of the entire South seemed to be in en-
tire accord with him on the subject. In truth,
the peojile of the lower and upper portion of
the Territory seem to have been as completely
estranged and soured against each other as if
their origin had been from distinct races.
Llence, was witnessed the pitiful endeavor of Pio
Pico to gather together a force sufficient to pro-
ceed to Monterey for the purpose of sultjugat-
ing Castro, at the very time the latter was
eqnally intent upon gathering a force to meet
what he conceived to be a great danger on the
northern frontier. To California, the early
months of 1846 seems" to have been a dark
period to all, fruitful of junto meetings and
dark-i'oom cabals, when all were suspicious of
.each othei-, and it seemed politic for no man to
let his right hand kimw what his left hand was
doing.
"While this comlition of doubt and uncer-
tainty was nnmistakably trne as related to the
Californians, it was only less trne, in a modified
degi-ee, as related to the Americans then resi-
dent here. Wliile they were united in heart
and sentiment, they were completely out at sea
without chart or compass, in the face of a
brewing st<jrm. If Fremont's action in Monterey
County had encouraged them to believe that he
had authority to raise the standard of revolu-
tion in California, that belief must have re-
ceived a chill when he, a few weeks later, with
his sixty men started northward to Oregon,
with the avowed purpose of returning east by
that ronte. That this was not a strategic move-
ment on his part is evidenced by letters he
wrote at the time both to his wife and his
father-in-law, Hon. Thomas II. Benton.
Thomas O. Larkin was the secret and confi-
dential agent of the United States Government
in California and he certainly' had no commi>-
sion to do anything in the direction of encour-
aging the raising of the standard of revolt in
California. Fremont's conduct seems to have
been to him a complete enigma. Larkin's in-
structions were to feel the pulse of Californians
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
as well as Americans in reference to jieaceable
annexatiun to the United States, and any demon-
stration on the part of the Americans in the
direction of violence and force could bnt com-
plicate and render more ditticnlt his task. lie
had sagacity enough to understand this, and
seems to have directed all his energies in the
direction of a j)eaceal)le solution of the problem
he was to assist in working out. It must be
iiorne in mind that Tliomas O. Larkin had long
been a resident merchant in California and that
his intimate connection and association with the
leading men of California, both natives and
foreigners, peculiarly fitted him for this labor of
paving the way for peaceable annexation of
California to the United States, l^ut that he
was not taken into all the secret councils of the
nation is manifest from the instructions of Hon.
George Bancroft, the then secretary of war un-
der President Polk, under date of June 24, 1845,
nearly a year before war was declared between
the United States and Mexico. The secretary's
instructions to Commodore Sloat were:
" If you ascertain that Mexico has declared
war against the United States, yon will at once
possess yourself of the port of San Francisco,
and occupy such other ports as your force may
permit. You will be careful to preserve, if
possilile, the most friendly relations with the
inhabitants, and encourage them to adopt a
course of neutrality."
On the 13th of May, 1846, war was declared.
On that very day Secretary Uancroft again in-
structed Commodore Sloat to cari-y out his first
orders "with energy and promptitude." Only
two days later we find Secretary Bancroft writ-
ing the following instructions to Commodore
Sloat: " A connection between California and
Mexico is supposed scarcely to exist. You will,
as opportunity offers, conciliate the confidence
of the people of California. Yon will conduct
yourself in such a manner as will render your
occupation t)f the country a benefit," etc. In a
dispatch dated dune 8, 1840, the Aincriran
Secretary conies out a little plainer. Ho says:
" If California separates herself from our enemy,
the Central Government of Mexico, and estab-
lishes a government of its own under the auspices
of the American Hag, you will take such meas-
ures as will best promote the attachment of the
people of California to the United States. Von
will bear in mind that this country desires to
find in California a friend; to be connected with
it by near ties; to hold possession of it," etc.
On July 12 he speaks still plainer: "The ob-
ject t>f the United States has reference to ulti-
mate ])eace, and if at that peace the basis of
i\\Q '• utl puasiiJetis' shall be adopted, the (iov-
ernment expects to be in possession of Califor-
nia."
While the instructions to Larkin seem to
have been of an entirely pacific and diplomatic
character, it is quite evident that the authori-
ties at Washington did not intend to allow the
formalities of red tape to stand in the way of
the acquisition of California.
There were two men on the northern frontiei-,
both occupying commanding positions, and each
destined to fill a conspicuous place in the his-
tory of those stirring times. One was General
M. G. Vallejo, and the other Captain John A.
Sutter. At this time, when California was
Hearing her final struggle with manifest destiny,
it is important to know just how and whei'e
they stood. Much has been said and written
on the subject, so much that it has become con-
fusing and difficult to always determine where
history ends and fiction begins. Vallejo and
Sutter both were officers of the California gov-
ernment and as such owed good faith and
allegiance to their country. We find nothing
to warrant the conclusion that either proved
recreant to their trust.
Vallejo evidently had a very sti-ong premoni-
tion that California had reached the beginning
of the end. So believing, he evidently had lit-
tle heart or concern about the personal quarrels of
Pico, Castro and other factious would-be leaders
of California. When called into council on tiie
alarming condition of the tiines, he was free to
express his opinions, and so far as reliable evi-
dence goes, it was always to the (jfiect that if
HISTORY OF SONOJIA COUNTY.
it eaine to the worst and a change of government
had to be made, that it was to the United States
that California could look for the strongest arm
of jirotection and speedy development of lier
latent resources. While those were his senti-
ments expressed in council with his country-
men, he in no wise seems to ha\e abandoned
hope that C'alif(.)rnia might yet be safely steered
through her dangers. This is evidenced by two
circumstances. Governor Pico addressed a let-
ter to Valiejo, probably in April, in which he
eluded him somewhat sharply for his apparent
adhesion to Castro, the every act of whom Pico
seemed to regard as dangerous usurpation of
military' power, the ultimate aim of which was
the overthrow of the civil government. Vailejo's
reply to Pico was both temperate and patriotic.
He did not liesitate to admonish Pico that he
was allowing his jealousy to befog his better
judgment — that Castro was making an etfort to
properly face a real danger, and he warned Pico
that the time had come when unity of action
was imperative if California would continue to
exist in her present form. He pointed out to
the Governor the folly of expecting a General
in the face of a threatened danger, to wait for
the transmission of orders such a long distance as
intervened between Los Angeles and Monterey.
These wise and temperate counsels of Valiejo
seem to have been wasted upon Pico, for he
appears to have gone forward in his endeavor to
marshal a sufficient force to march to Monterey
and overthrow Castro. The second circum-
stance which shows that Yallejo had not yet
lost all hope is the fact that early in June Cas-
tro visited Sonoma on his mission uf gathering
war supplies, and secured a large number of
horses. Of these horses more will be said a
little further on. Of what occurred between
Yallejo and Castro at that time there seezns to
be little of record. Intelligent reflection draws
two conclusions somewhat difficult to harmonize.
That a matter of 170 horses was furnished by
Valiejo to Castro would clearly indicate that
the former was willing to contribute liberally
otward the common defense, for Castro lacked
the power, if he had the will, to exact from
Valiejo forced contributions. The next ques-
tion to harmonize with a cheerful desire of
Valiejo to heartily second Castro's seem i no-
patriotic eflbrts is, why was it that Sonoma
with an armament of nine cannons of various
caliber, and at least two hundred muskets, was
not brought into requisitiuii in a time of such
great 2ierii; It was to the east and north that
Castro was looking for lurking danger, and if
that General and Valiejo were working together
in perfect accord it seems little short of aniaziuir
that Sonoma was left to repose in sleepy security
without a cannon shotted or a musket in hand
or sentinel to signal the alarm of an approach-
ing foe.
Of Captain John A. Sutter little need be
said. Being a citizen by naturalization, his
position was ditferent froni that of Valiejo. It
is trne he was holding position under the Cali-
fornia government, but his attachment to the
country of his adoption never seems to have
outweighed his own personal objects and aims
in busii.ess. But even he is not chargeable
with having been guilty of gross perfidy to the
laud that had given him wealth and honor.
This is evidenced by the two-fold fact that he
took pains to warn the government at Monterey
that a man named Gillespie, who had been at
Monterey and was then following Fremont
north, was a secret emissary of the United
States. At the same time, and with possibly a
less patriotic motive, he again called the atten-
tion of the California government to the im-
portance of strengthening itself in the
Sacramento Valley, and for that purpose oft'ered
to sell his establishment at New Helvetia. This,
on his part, was business, simon pure, and
should not be allowel to counterbalance too
much of the good deeds and kind offices of that
historic pioneer to the weary, travel-worn
American immigrants, so many of whom en-
joyed his benefactions. Sutter was a man of
pretty good common sense and was not blind to
the fact that California was liable to be in an
eruptive state atany moment: and. like Mic.iw-
HISTORT OF SONOilA COUNTY.
ber, '> was just waiting tor something to turn
up."'
It was now in early May of 1846, and Gen-
eral Fremont, with his sixty explorers, was well
on his way northward, having pitched camp on
the shores of Klamath Lake. General Castro,
doubtless elated at having achieved a bloodless
victory in taking the abandoned fort of F'remont
on Gabilan I'eak, was now seeking new fields
of glory. Pio Pico was yet in the south in-
tent upon marshaling a sufficient force to war-
rant him in visiting the northern end of the
Territory of which he was governor. Consul
Larkin was inditing confidential epistles to all
such as to whom he thontrlit could be entrusted
the secret and work of peaceable annexation of
California to the United States. General il. G.
Vallejo was in quiet repose at Sonoma, appar-
ently having converted his sword into a plow-
share, his spear into a jiruning hook, and his
martial field-glasses into a medium through
which to watch his herds and flocks upon a
thousand hills. Captain John A. Sutter was
looking after his fields of waving grain at Hawk
Farm, doubtless anticipating a paying harvest,
for the incoming immigration expected from
over the mountains was variously estimated at
from 1,000 to 5,000 souls. The hills and val-
leys of this genial clime were doubtless clad in
verdure and flowers; and yet the very air was
oppi'essive with the forecast of revolution and
sanguinary strife.
A new Richmond, with closed visor, had now
appeared upon the field. He anewered to the
plain name of Archibald II. Gillespie, amd had
reached Monterey the 17th of April. Larkin
had already received a letter from James Bu-
chanan, the then Secretary of State, informing
him that, " Lieutenant Archibald II. Gillespie,
of the marine corps, will immediately proceed to
Monterey, and will probably reach you before
this dispatch. He is a gentleman in whom the
President reposes entire confidence. He has
seen these instructions, and will co-operate as a
confidential agent with you in carrying them
into execution."' Gillespie was a month behind
time in reaching Monterey in consequence of
unavoidable delays in Mexico. That his dis-
patches to Larkin were of a very important
and secret character is evidenced by the fact
that lest they might fall into Mexican hands,
Gillespie had memorized them and then de-
stroyed the paper upon which they were written.
On reaching Monterey he was plain Mr. Gilles-
pie, an American merchant, traveling for the
benefit of his health. He was also the bearer
of a letter of introduction from Hon. Thonjas
H. Benton to his son-in-law. General Fremont,
as well as a package of private letters from the
same distinguished statesman to the " Path-
finder." After lingering a little at Monterey,
doubtless to give color to his assumed character,
Lieutenant Gillespie one night embarked for
New Helvetia, and arriving there at once began
to arrange for an escort to accompany him on
the trail of Fi-emont. It was then, as already
stated, that Captain Sutter conveyed to the au-
thorities at Monterey his suspicion that Gilles-
pie was a secret emissary of the United States
Government. Lieutenant Gillespie made all
haste northward. Historian Bancroft gives the
following graphic account of this journey and
the tragic occurrences attending it:
"This officer, of whose arrival I will have more
to say presently, had reached Sutter's April
28th, and Lassen's the 1st of May. From that
point, with only five companions, Lassen, Xeal,
Sigler, Stepp and a negro servant named Ben,
he started May 2d, on Fremont's trail. On the
7th two men were sent in advance, and the
others encamped at the outlet of Klamath Lake,
unable to ford the river, and having nothing to
eat for forty hours. On the morning of the Oth
a party of Indians made their appearance, who,
with great apparent kindness, gave the travelers
a fresli salmon for food, and ferried them ovei-
the water in canoes. After a day's journey of
some thirty miles, (iillespie met Fremont at
sunset, at a stream named from the events of
that night. Ambuscade Creek. The sixteen
tired travelers retired early after the two parties
were united on May 9th, and were soon sleep-
UrsTDRT OF SONOMA COUNTY.
iiig souiully- Freiuoiit sitting up later than the
rest to read his dispatches and letters from
liome. The Indians were deemed friendly, and
no watch was kept. Just before midnight the
cam]) was attacked by savages, Basil Lajeunesse
and a Delaware were killed as they slept, by
Itlows from axes. The sound of these blows
aroused Carson and Owens, who gave the alarm;
when the Indians fled, after killing with their
arrows a Delaware named Crane, and leaving
(lead a chief of their number, who proved to be
the very man from whom Gillespie had that
morning been furnislied with food and aid
further south. Next morning they started
northward to join the main body, burying the
bodies of their slain comrades on the way. The
whole party started on the lltli down the east-
ern side of the lake, wreaking terrible vengeance
on the innocent natives along the route, if we
may credit the statement of Kit Carson, who
played a leading part in the butcheries. They
reached Lassen's rancho on their return the
24th, and a few days later moved their camp
down to the Buttes."
This awakens the reflection that the greatest
of human events are subject to the modifying
influence of currents and cross-currents; for had
the Indians who made that midnight attack been
successful in their evident design to massacre
all in that unguarded camp, it is more than
probable that the bear flag revolution would
never have formed a chapter of Sonoma County
history. Mr. Bancroft expresses the opinion
that Gillespie's meeting with Fremont had
nothing to do with the latter's return north-
ward — that '' the Captain had nearly deter-
mined, on account of the difiiculty of crossing
the mountains into Oregon on account of the
snow,"' to retrace his steps. We dissent from
this view of the subject. If Gillespie was only
the bearer of instructions to Fremont couched
in the same language of diplomacy as that used
by Secretary Buchanan in imparting to Larkin
the duties devolved u])on him by the President,
then the continued presence of Fremont could
have served no good end. In truth, his con-
tinued presence would be detrimental to the
very object Larkin was expected to achieve.
Gillespie must have had full knowledge of what
Fremont had done at Gabilon Peak, and as he
was the duly accredited secret agent of the
United States government it is but reasonable
to suppose that he would have at least some ad-
visory influence with Fremont. Then, again,
Fremont and Larkin were occupying entirely
difterent positions, and it is quite probable that
while the latter was expected only to use the
weapons of diplomacy, the former may have
been accorded discretionary power, if circum-
stances seemed to warrant, to use more weighty
arguments. But outside of all this it must be
remembered that Gillespie had placed in Fre-
mont's hands letters from Hon. Thomas II.
Benton. The latter was just as near to the
war-making power as was James Buchanan, antl
he was under no trammel to measure his words
with red tape. While he was not in a position
to give Fremont either instructions or orders, it
is fair to presume that he would intimate to the
husband of his favorite daughter the true con-
dition of affairs and impress upon him the im-
portance of holding himself in readiness to
improve any opportunities, such as were liable
to suddenly arise, for preferment and position.
To believe that Fremont had an}' serious in-
tention of leaving California just at a time when
he mnst have known that right here and then
he was upon the very eve of the fruition of Ben-
ton's most ardent expectation, would be to im-
pute to him a lack of regard for name and fame
singularly at variance with reputed character of
either himself or Mr. Benton.
But we now put behind us matters specula
tive and enter upon the domain of thrilling
facts. During Fremont's absence north there
were all kinds of wild rumors afloat, and they
lost nothing as they passed from mouth to
mouth. Castro's war preparations had been
magnifled into an expressed purpose on his part
to drive the American settlers out of the coun-
try. It was rumored and so believed, that the
Indians of the Sacramento Valley were being
BISTORT OF SONOMA COUNTY.
incited tu an iiprisiiifr and tliat as soon as the
grain fields were far enough advanced to be
conihustible, llie torch woiikl be applied. Cap-
tain Sutter seems to have given credence to
these stories, tor he was on an active Indian
campaign against some of tlie lawless tribes.
Fremont had moved camp from the IJuttes to
Rear Iliver, near where Nicholas now stands. It
was but natural that his camp should become
tile head centre, around which the hopes and ex-
pectations of his fellow-countrymen should clus-
ter. The settlers knew that Gillespie was act-
ing upon some authority of the United States
government, and his swift haste northward af-
ter Fremont, and the latter's e(j^ually speedy re-
turn, had to them a significance that they were
close to exciting times. There is nothing of re-
cord to show that General Fremont either coun-
selled action, or quiet, on the part of American
settlers. He seems to have been a passive lis-
tener to the recital of their plans and grievances,
but somehow, the most unlettered of those
frontiersmen, gathered from his very silence,
assent that he would stand between tliem and
harm. The people were ripe for revolution and
the favored chance to strike the first blow op-
portunely came.
As has already been stated, General Castro's
visit to General Vallejo in the first week of June
resulted in his securing 170 horses. Having
achieved this much toward placing himself up-
on a stable war footing, Castro returned by boat
to Yerba Buena, entrusting the horses to the
care and management of his private secretary,
Francisco Arce, Lieutenant Jose Alaria Alviso,
and an escort of eight men for safe conduct to
Santa Clara. Leaving Sonoma with the l>and
of horses, they reached what is now Knight's
Landing, on the Sacramento Iliver, where a
crossing was effected, and on June 8tli they
reached Sutter's Fort. It is alleged that Arce
told some one on his I'oute that the horses were
for Castro, and to he used in driving the Amer-
ican settlers out; but this was probably idle
rumor. But whether true or not, it served to in-
tensify the excitement, which was now at about
white heat. On the afternoon of June 9tii,
eleven or twelve Americans started on the trail
of Arce and Alviso and their band of horses.
These men are said to have started from the
neighborhood of Fremont's camp, and a man
named Ilensley is the authority that they were
sent by Fremont; but this lacks the evidence
that should back a historic fact. In j)assing New
Helvetia, this company was increased by two
new recruits. Ezekiel Merritt commanded the
expedition. Of its members, Sempel, Henry L.
Ford and Granville V. Swift, afterward for
long years a resident of Sonoma County, are
the only names known with certainty. Cross-
ing the American River late iu the evening,
they made their first stop at the rancho of Allen
Montgomery, who not only furnished them a
supper, but he, with another man, accompanied
them to lend a hand at striking this first blow
of revolution. Arce and Alviso had stopped for
the night at the rancho of Murphy, using his
corral for their horses. Merritt and his men
camped within three miles of the place, and at
early dawn, on the morning of the ever memor-
able lOtli of June, 184:6, swooped down upon
the unsuspecting Arce and Alviso, and in a
trice had them and their men disarmed. That
Merritt and his men were not heartless desper-
adoes is apparant from the fact that they allowed
the vanquished to retain each a horse, and recog-
nized Alviso's claim to a few more as private
property; after which their arms were restored
to them and they were made the bearers of a
message to Castro, that if he wanted his horses
he could come after them. Arce also reported
to Castro that the insurgents had declared their
purpose to take Sonoma. This declaration of
their intent was a subject of official announce-
ment at Monterey two days before Sonoma was
captured, wliicli proves that Arce and Alviso
had not falsely reported the utterance of Merritt
and his followers. The revolutionists, with their
band of horses, were back to the neighborhood
of Fremont's camp within forty-eight hours af-
ter they set out on their mission. While there
seems to have been no ]>reconcerted action on
HISTonr (IF .sONfiMA COUNTY.
the part u\' tlie Aniuricau settlers in this high-
handed act, tliey all seemed to have assented to
the fact tliat tlie bridges had been burned behind
them, and all they had to do now was to
"light it out on that line if it took them all
summer."
It was the lltli of June that Merritt and his
followers returned with Castro's horses. They
seem to have acted on the principle of '• making
hay while the sun shines," for on that afternoon
the company was increased to twenty men, still
led by lizekiel ilerritt, who took their departure
in the direction of Sonoma. That night they
reached Gordon's on Cache Creek where they
halted for refreshments, and then made a night
march to Napa Valley, which they reached on
the forenoon of June 12th. In Napa Valley
they remained two days, evidently for the pur-
pose of strengthening their force; which they
did by the enrollment of twelve or thirteen
additional men. The force now numbered
either thirty-two or thirty-three, who, so far as
is now ascertainable, i-esponded to the following
names: Ezekiel Merritt, AVilliam B. Ide, John
Grigsby, Robert Semple, II. L. Ford, William
Todd, William Fullon, William Knight, Will-
iam Ilargrave, Sam Kelsey, G. F. Swift, Sam
Gibson, W. W. Scott, Benj. Dewell, Thomas
Cowie, William B. Elliott, Thomas Knight,
Horace Sanders, Henry Booker, Dav. Hudson,
John Sears, and most of the following: J. II.
Kelly, C. C. Griffith, Harvey Porterfield, John
Scott, Ira Stebbins, Marion Wise, Ferguson,
I'eter Storm, Pat. McChristian, Bartlett Vines,
Fowler, Jolin Gibbs, Andrew Kelsey, and Benj-
amin Kelsey. It was about midnight of Satur-
day the 13tli of June that this motley crowd of
frontiersmen took to saddle and proceeded across
the hills intervening between Napa Valley and
the Pueblo of Sonoma. J ust at break of day
they reached that fortified stronghold of north-
ern California, and neither baying of watch-
dog nor cackling of goose ai'oused the sleeping
Sonomans to a sense of impending danger.
Every reader will e.xpect to hear, in detail, ex-
actly wh;it transpired on that memorable occa-
sion. Hubert Howe Bancroft has in his pos-
session many of the original documents con-
nected with that event, or authenticated copies.
He is certainly in a position to give as near the
absolute facts in connection therewith as will
ever be attaiiiable, as very many of the partici-
pants in the capture of Sonoma are now dead.
We have had from General Vallejo's own lips
a statement of the individual part he played in
the event, and it is substantially the same as
recited by Mr. Bancroft. Believing that hist-
orian Bancroft gives a true and reliable version
of the whole occurrence we incorporate it here.
It is as follows:
'' At dayl)reak Vallejo was aroused by a noise,
and on looking out saw that his house was sur-
rounded by armed men. This state of things
was sufficiently alarming in itself, and all the
more so by reason of the uncouth and even fero-
cious aspect of the strangers. Says Semple:
Almost the whole party was dressed in leather
hunting-shirts, many of them very greasy; tak-
ing the whole party together, they were about
as rough a looking set of men as one could well
imagine. It is not to be wondered at that any
one woiild feel some dread in falling into their
hands. And Vallejo himself declares that
there was l)y no means such a uniformit}- of
dress as a greasy hunting-shirt for each man
would imply. Vallejo's wife was even more
alarmed than her husband, whom she begged to
escape by a back door, but who deeming such a
course undignified as well as impracticaljle,
hastily dressed, ordered the front door opened,
and met the intruders as they entered his sala,
demanding who was their chief and what their
business. Not much progress in explanation
was made at first, though it soon became appar-
ent that the Colonel, wdiile he was to consider
himself a prisoner was not in danger of any per-
sonal violence. Lieutenant-Colonel Prudon and
Captain Salvador Vallejo entered the room a few-
minutes later, attracted by the noise, or possibly
were arrested at their houses and brought there;
at any rate, they were put under arrest like the
Colonel. Jacob P. Leese was sent for to serve
niSTORT OP SONOMA COtTNTT.
as interpreter, after whicli imitnal expliuiations
progresised more favorably.
•' Early in the ensuing negotiations between
prisoners and filibusters, it became apparent
that the latter had neither acknowledged leader
nor regular plan of operations beyond the seizure
of government projjerty and of the officers.
Some were acting, as in the capture of Arce's
horses, merely with a view to obtain arms,
animals, and hostage — to bring about hostilities,
and at the same time to deprive the foe of his
resources; others believed themselves to have,
undertaken a revolution, in which the steps to
be immediately taken were a formal declaration
of independence and the election of officers,
Merritt l)eing regarded rather as a guide than
captain. All seemed to agree, however, that
they were acting under Fremont's orders, and
this to the prisoners was the most assuring feat-
ure in the case, ^'allejo had for some time
favored the annexation of California to the
United States. He had expected and often
predicted a movement to that end. There is no
foundation for the suspicion that the taking of
Sonoma and his own capture were planned by
himself, in collusion with the filibuster chiefs,
with a view to evade responsibility; yet it is cer-
tain that he had little if any objection to an en-
forced arrest by officers of the United States as a
means of escaping from the delicacy of his posi-
tion as a Mexican officer. Accordingly, being
assured that the insurgents were acting under
Fremont, he submitted to arrest, gave up keys
to public property, and entered upon negotia-
tions with a view to obtain guarantees of protec-
tion for non-combatants.
"The guarantees sought were then drawn up
in writing and signed by the respective parties.
The originals of those documents are in my
possession, and are given in a note."
The following are the documents referred to
by Mr. Bancroft:
"Sonoma, June 14, 184G.
"Be it known by these presents, that, having
been surprised by a numerous armed force
wiiich took me j)risoner,. witli the chief and offi-
cers belonging to the garrison of this place that
the said force took possession of, having found
it absolutely defenseless, myself as well as the
undersigned officers pledge our word of lienor
that, being under the guarantees of prisoners of
war, we will not take up arms for or against the
said armed forces, from whlcli we have received
the present intimation, and a signed writing
which guarantees our lives, families, and prop-
erty, and those of all the residents of this ju-
risdiction, so long as we make no opposition.
M. J. Valle,to,
Victor Prudon,
Sai.vadot; Yai.i.e.io.'''
" We, the undersigned, have resolved to es-
tablish a government of on (upon?) republican
principles, in connection with others of our
fellow-citizens, and having taken up arms to
support it, we have taken three Mexican officers
as prisoners, Gen. M. J. Vallejo, Lieut. -Col.
Victor Prudon, and Capt. D. Salvador Vallejo.
having formed and published to the world no
regular plan of governi^ent, feel it our duty to
say it is not our intention to take or injure any
person who is not found in opposition to the
cause, nor will we take or destroy the property
of private indi\;iduals further than is necessary
for our support. Ezekiel Merritt,
R. Semple,
William Fallox,
Samiel Kelsay."
Mr. Bancroft, continuing says: "It was
natui-ally to be expected, under the circum-
stances, that the arrested officers would be re-
leased on parole. Such was evidently the view
taken on both sides at first. Ford says there
were some who favored such a course. Leese.
who had the best opportunities for understand-
ing the matter, and who gives a more detailed
account than any other writer, tells us that
such a decision was reached; and finally, the
documents which I iiave presented, Nos. 1 and
2, being to all intents and purposes regular pa-
role papers, leave no doubt u])on the subject.
But ut)W difficulties arose, resjtectiiig some
HISTORY OF .SONOMA COUNTY.
phase of which there is contradictory testi-
inony.
"Thus far only a few of tlie insurgent leaders
had entered, or at least remained in the house;
and the negotiations liad in reality been con-
ducted bj Semple and Leese very much in their
own way. Ide testifies that Merritt, Semple
and Wm. Knight, the latter accompanying the
expedition merely as an interpreter, were the
first to eTiter the house, while the rest waited
outside; that presently hearing nothing, they
became impatient, determined to choose a cap-
tain, ami elected John (Trigsl)y, who thereupon
went in; and after waiting what appeared an
age, the men again lost patience and called upon
the writer, Ide, to go and investigate the causes
of delav. Now the discrepancies in testimony
begin. Ide describes the slate of things which
met his view as follows: 'The General's gen-
erous spirits gave proof of his usual hospitality,
as the richest wines and brandies sparkled in
the glasses, and those who had thus uncere-
moniously met soon became merry companions;
more especially the merry visitors. There sat
Dr. S., just modifying a long string of articles
of capitulation. There sat ]V[erritt, his head
fallen; there sat Knight, no longer able to in-
terpret; and there sat the new-made captain, as
mute as the seat he sat upon. The bottles had
well-nigh vantpiished the captors!' Leese also
states that the brandy was a potent factor in
that morning's event; but aeconling to his ver-
sion, it was on the company outside that its in-
lluence was e.xerted, rendering them noisy and
unmanageable, though an effort had been made
by his advice to put the liquor out of reach. I
do not, however, deem it at all likely that the
leaders drank more than it was customary to
drink in a Californian's parlor, or more than
tliey could carry; but that some of the rough
characters in the company became into.xicated
we may well believe.
"At any rate, disagreement ensued, the men
refused entirely to ratify the capitulation made
by their former leaders, insisting that the pris-
oners must be sent to the Sacramento; some of
them were inclined to be insubordinate and
eager for plunder; while the lawless spirits were
restrained from committing outrages by the
eloquence of Semple and the voice of the ma-
jority; yet the leaders could not agree. Cap-
tain Grigsby declined to retain the leadership
that had been conferred upon him. So William
B. Ide was chosen in his stead, and the revolu-
tionists immediately took possession of all pub-
lic property, as well as of such horses and other
private property as they needed, at the same
time locking up all citizens that could be found.
It would seem that the second of the documents
I have presented was torn, and the third drawn
up and signed at an early stage of the disagree-
ments, after it became apparent that it might be
best to send the prisoners to the Sacramento,
the signatures showing that it could not have
been later. Vallejo, though not encouraged at
seeing that the leaders were not j)ermitted by
their followers to keep their promises, was not
very much displeased at being sent to New
Helvetia. He was assured that the insurgents
were acting by Fremont's orders; his own views
were known to be favorable to the schemes of
the United States; and he had no reason to
doubt that on meeting Fremont he and his
companions would at once be released on parole.
"Before the departure of the prisoners and
their escort a formal meeting of the revolution-
ists was held. That Semple, secretary, made a
speech counselling united action and modera-
tion in the treatment of the natives, and that
William B. Ide was chosen captain, is all that
is known of this meeting, except what we may
learn from Ide' snarrative. The leaders differed
in their ideas, not only respecting the dispo-
sition to be made of the prisoners, but about
the chief object of the movement. Evidently
there had been no definitely arranged plan of
operations. Fremont bad succeeded in bring-
ing about a state of open hostility without
committing himself. Some of the men re-
garded their movement as merely intended to
provoke Castro to inake an attack on Fremont;
or at least they dreaded the responsibility of
IIIHTORY OF SONOMA CdUNfy.
engaging in a regular revDJution, especially
when it was learned that no one con Id produce
any definite pi-omise from Fremont in black and
wl'.ite to support such a movement. Others
were in favor of an immediate declaration of
independence. That such differences of opinion
did exist as Ide states, is in itself by no means
improbable; and it is confirmed to some extent
by the fact that Grigsby did resign his leader-
ship, and by the somewhat strange circumstance
that three such prominent men as Grigsby,
]\Ierritt and Semple should have left Sonoma to
accompany the prisoners. Ide writes that when
Grigsby heard that no positive orders from
Fremont could be produced, liis fears of doing
wrong overcame his patriotism, and he inter-
rupted the speaker by saying: ' (Tcntlemen, I
have been deceived; I cannot go with you; I
resign and back out of the scrape. I can take
my family to the mountains as cheap as any of
you' — and Dr. S. at that moment led liim into
the house. Disorder and confusion prevailed.
One swore he would not stay and guard the
prisoners; another swore we would all have our
throats cut; another called for fresh horses; and
all were on the move, every man for himself,
when the speaker [Ide] resumed liis efforts,
raising his voice louder and more loud, as tlie
men receded from the place, saying: ' We need
no horses; saddle no horse for me; I can go to
the Spaniards and make freemen of them. I will
lay my bones here before I will take upon my-
self the ignominy of commencing an honorable
work and tlien flee like cowards, like thieves,
when no enemy is in sight. In vain will you
say yon had honorable motives. Who will be-
lieve if? Flee this day, and the longest life
cannot wear out your disgrace! Choose ye this
day what you will be! We are robbers or we
must becon<[uerors! ' and the speaker in despair
turned his back on liis receding conqianions.
With new hope they rallied around the despond-
ing speaker, made him their commander, their
cliief; and his next words commanded the
taking of the fort." Subsequently " the three
leaders of the party of the pi'imitive plan of
' neutral eonrpiest ' left us alone in our glory."
I find no reason to doubt that this version,
though somewhat highly colored, is in sub-
stance accurate; that Merritt, having captured
horses and prisoners, was content to rest on his
laurels; that Grigsby was timid about assuming
the responsibility of declaring independence
without a positive assurance of Fremont's co-
operation; that Semple, while in favor of inde-
pen lence, preferred that Sacramento should be
the center of operations, uidess — what Vallejo
and Leese also favored — Fremont could be in-
duced to establish his headquarters at Sonoma;
or finally, that Ide and his associate influenced
the majority to complete their revolutionary
work and take no backward steps. I think, how-
ever, that Ide and all the rest counted con-
fidently on Fremont's support; and that Semple
and Grigsby were by no means regarded as
abandoning the cause when they left Sonoma.
"It was about 11 a. m., on June 14th, when
the three prisoners, accompanied by Leese us
interpreter at their request and that of the
captors — not himself a prisoner as has been
generally stated — and guarded by Grigsby,
Semple, Merritt, Ilargrave, Knight and four of
five others, started on horses from Yallejo's
herds for the Sacramento. It will be most
convenient to follow them before proceeding to
narrate later developments at Sonoma. Before
starting, and on the way, Vallejo was often
questioned by ('alifornians as to the situation of
afiairs; but could only counsel them to i-emain
quiet, announcing that he would probably
return within four or live days. His idea was
that Fremont, after releasing hiin and his
companions on parole, might be induced to
establish his headquarters at Sonoma, an idea
shared by Semple, Grigsby and Leese. Relations
between captives and captors were altogether
friendly, except in the case of some hostile
feeling among a few individuals against Don
Salvador.
" They encamjied that night at Yaca's rancho.
No special pains wei-e taken to guanl the prison-
ers, who, with Leese, slept on a |)ilf of >li:iw
UIsroRY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
near tlie camp. Yallejo had desired to travel
all night; luit the men declined to do so, having
had no sleep the night before. Before dawn on
the morning of the loth, a Californian succeeded
in reaching the cai)tives, and informed Yallejo
tha't a company of his countrymen had been
organized to effect his rescue, and only awaited
his orders. The Colonel refused to permit such
an attempt to be made, both because he had no
reason to fear any unpleasant results from his
enforced visit to the Sacramento, and because
he feared retaliation at Sonoma in case an
attempt to escape should bring harm to any of
the guards. On the 15th the party reached
Hardy's place on the Sacramento. Here Merritt
left the others, intending to visit Fremont's camp
and return next morning, but as he did not
come back Leese, with one companion, started
in the forenoon of the Itith, also in quest of
Fremont. Arriving at Allgeier's place, they
Ioarne<l that the Captain had moved his camp
to the American River; and starting for that
point, they rejoined their companions before
arrival. Here Grigsby presented an order from
Fremont for Leese's arrest, for which, so far as
known, no explanation was given.
" Late in the afternoon they reached the
camp, and the prisoners were brought into the
presence of Fremont. That officer's reception
of them was very different from what had been
anticipated. His words and manner were re-
served and mysterious. He denied when
Yallejo demanded for what offenses and by
what authority he had caused their arrest, that
he was in any way responsible for what had
been done; declared tiiat thej' were prisoners of
the people, who had been driven to revolt for
self-protection; refused to accept their paroles,
and sent them that same night, under a guard
composed in part if not wholly of his own
men — Kit Carson and Merritt being sent in ad-
vance — to be locked up at Sutter's Furt."
HISTORY OF SONOMA C0VNT7.
^' THE BEAB FLAG STABUl STRIPES. ^,
■ ■ 1 1 ■ ■ H K» aA^H IX l\ II H
CTIAPTEK VII.
ThK PRISONKES OCT iiF TIIK WAY, THE REVOLrTIONIt^TS CAME DOWN TO THE SERIOUS fONC'ERNS OF
FOrNDINO A NKW (ioVERNMENT THEY ADOPT THE BeAR Fi.AG H(i\V IT WAS MADE AND TiY
'\vii(i>[ — tiii:y have nine cannons and two m'NDREn muskets — Captain Ide issues a proc-
I.AJtATInN LlinrENANT MisSRdOX FROM THE AMERICAN MAN OF WAR, PORTSMOUTH, ARRI\ES
AND (JETS ASSURANCE FUnM THE KKVor.UTIONISTS THAT TIIKY Wir.l. IHO I '( iNSTDEKATE OE THE
RIGHTS UF THE FORMER CITIZKNS (iF SoNoMA THE Kir,I.IN(; OF CowIE AND FoWLEE AT SaNTA
IJos.v THi: P.ATTI.E iiF Ol.oMI'AIJ CaSTRO SENDS TROOPS ACROSS THE BAY A SWIFT MESSEN-
GER SENT TO Fremont -- Fremont hastens to Sonoma with ninety men — goes to San
IvAFAICr. RETURNS TO SoNOMA AND CELEIJEATES THE FoURTH OF Jui.V THERE — ON THE 5th
the California Battalion organize with Fremont and Gieee;spie as officers — Fremon-i-
STARTS ON THE 6tH TO HEAD THE BAY AND GO SOUTH AFTER CasTRO — NEWS HAVING REACHED
Captain- MoNT(ioMEi:Y, of the Portsmouth, that war existed p-etween the United
States and Mexico, he, on the morning of the 9tii of Jui.y dispatched Lieutenant
liEVEKE TO Sonoma with an American flag, and at noon of that day the bear flag
CAME down and the stars and stripes went IP.
.g^^ENEPwAL VALLEJO certainly had a riglit
'livTP to lie sHvprisid at tlie foregoing treatment
W^ I'V Fremont. Tiiat lie appreciated the
real condition of affairs is made very plain by
the following correspondence, a carefnl perusal
of which will show that General Vallejo, when
taken prisoner at Sonoma, felt warranted in
looking to United States anthoritics for protec-
tion. From John B. Montgomery, command-
ing United States ship Portsmouth, he certainly
received more of consideration and cheer than
from (xeneral Fremont, and yet in both instances
the action of the l>ear Flag party seems to have
been repudiated and ignored entirely. Viewed
from tills stniidnoint it is not a matter of
wonder that Cajitain Grigsby and others of the
Bear Flag party may have felt a tickling sensa-
tion aronnd the neck when they ascertained
that their taking of Sonoma was not backed by
any positive anthority from Fremont or any
body else clothed with United States authority.
The rank and file of the Bear Flag party evi-
dently acted npon the principle that a "wink
was as good as a nod of assent;" and taking their
lives in their hands they struck the blow, and
took the chances. Like John Adams who, after
affixing his name to the Declaration of Inde-
pendence, remarked, "well, if we hang, we ail
hang together," they captured Sonoma, and left
to tilt' fntiirt' what the outcome of the venturi'
HISTORY Olf SONOMA COUNTY.
should be. Tlio t'ollowinc; is tlie eorrespinulenee
refeiTcd to:
'• HISTiiUR'AL CoKRKSl'DNUKXCK.
'• (ieneral Vallejo's niessaye to Captain Mont-
gomery, the daxj of the capture of Sonoma
— Montijom.ery's reply — Lieutenant Miss-
roon's account of the revolutionists — Highly
creditahle conduct of the Bears — ■ Ide\i
pledge to Missioon.
" United States Ship Pokts.mihtii.
"San Franiisco, Au^^ust 17, 1847.
" My Deae General: — I am now about to sail
for Monterey, and avail myself of tliis mode of
expressing to you my regret that I shall thus
most probably be deprived of seeing you on
your contemplated visit to Yerba Buena to-
morrow, having anticipated much pleasure from
this event; Init you well know how little we
servants of the public are left to the disposition
of our own time.
'* I reached the Portsmouth from Sonoma very
coinfortably on Friday last about ti o'clock in
the afternoon, greatly pleased with my visit,
and gratified by the very kind and hospitable
attentions of my esteemed friends there, the i-e-
membrance of which I shall long continue to
cherish.
" In compliance with your e.xpressed wisiies
while I was at Sonoma, I herewith inclose you,
my dear General, copies of tiie document for-
warded to yon by De la Rosa in tlie commence-
ment of the late revolution, and those liaving
reference to Lieutenant Missroon's visit to
Sonoma b\- my ordei's, with overtures to the in-
surgent chief in behalf of prisoners and the
helpless inhabitants of that place, which you are
at liberty to use as you shall think proper.
'' From Monterey it is most probable 1 shall
make a cruise to the southward, and am not
without hopes of soon returning with the pleas-
ing intelligence of peace between the United
States and Mexico, which I feel assured will be
most welcome tidings for you and all who are
interested in the prosperity of California.
'' Be pleased to present my most respectful re-
gards to Madam Vallejo and all the members
of your interesting family, and express to them
my sen.se uf their kind hospitality and attention
to me and my little son during our recent visit;
and believe me, my dear General. 1 am and
shall ever be, with highest esteem and friend-
ship, sincerely your obedient servant,
" John B. MoNT(io.MEKy.
"Gen. Guadalupe Vallejo, Sonoma."
Statement of the interview hetween Senor Don
Jose de la Rosa and Vommander John B.
Montgomery, commanding United States
ship Portsmouth, Lieutenant W. A. Bart-
lett, United States Navy, interpreter. By
order of the commander, John B. Mont-
gomery.
" Don Jose de la Rosa, on coming on board
the ship, desired to inform Captain Montgomery
that he brought information from Don Guada-
lupe Vallejo, military commandante of Sonoma,
which he desired to give the moment Captain
Montgomery could receive him.
" On being received by Captain jMontgomery I
was directed to act as interpreter, when Senor
de la Rosa proceeded to deliver his message,
which 1 wrote, as follows:
" Don Guadalupe Vallejo desires to inform
Captain ]\[ontgomery of the proceedings which
took place at Sonoma yesterday morning, at 5
o'clock. There arrived at Sonoma a party of
about eighty men, as they said, from the Sacra-
mento. They at once took forcible jiossession
of the place, and posted themselves on the
" Cuartel." They then made prisoners of Gen-
eral Vallejo, Captain Don Salvador Vallejo, and
Lieutenant-Colonel Don Victor Prndhon, all of
whom are officers of the Mexican army.
" Then a Mr. Merritt, who appeared to liave
command (U- exercise the authority with the
party, handed the General a convention demand-
ing of iiim the surrender of all the arms and
government property in Sonoma, which place
they should not leave.
" The General replied that he must surrender
to the force in arms, and did so surrender, when
niaroRT of sonoma county.
tiie party demanded fiirtlier that all the above-
named ofticers slionld go with them to their
eanip on the Sacramento liiver.
" General Vallejo tiien re(|uested them to
show their authority or determination (ct/iajo qtie
jddiioy, and as they said they were Americans,
lie desired tliey should exhibit tlieir authority
from the Government of tiie United States.
They replied that they did not come under the
authority of the United States; but having
seen a proclamation of Gen. Castro, threatening
to drive all foreigners out of the country, they
hail taken up arms in self-defense.
'• Tiiey then made a prisoner of the Alcalde,
and told him that if any person in the place or
neighborhood attempted to notify other places
of this act, or raise a force to oppose tliem, they
would at once shoot the otKcers they tlien held
prisoners. The Alcalde was then set at liberty,
l)ut told that if he did not prevent any opposi-
tion to them he would also be shot.
" General Vallejo desires to inform CJaptain
Montgomery of these facts, and to ask him to
use his authority or exert his intiuence to pre-
vent the commission of acts of violence by this
party, inasmuch as they seemed to be without
any effectual head or authority. To this end he
hoped for an officer to be sent to the place, or a
letter that would have the effect of saving
the helpless inhabitants from violence and
anarchy.
'• Senor Don Jose de la Rosa was directed by
(Teneral Vallejo (at 11 a. m. yesterday) to come
with this message, but could not leave until 3
1'. M. A few moments jjast 11 the party left a
garrison of twenty-five men at Sonoma pro-
tected by seven pieces of cannon. The others,
with the prisoners, left for the SacraiTUMito."
Iitij/lt/ of VomvKmder MonfyoiiKiij to tin' mcs-
■sriye of General Vdllejo.
" Sik: — You will say to General Vallejo, on
my part, that I at once and entirely disavo■\^ this
movement as having proceeded under any
authority of the United States, or myself as
the agent ot my Government in this country.
or on this coast. It is a movement entirely
local, and with which I have nothing to do; nor
can I in any way be induced to take part in the
controversy whicli belongs entirely to the inter-
nal politics of California.
"If they are Americans, as they avow them-
selves, they are l)eyond the jurisdiction of the
laws and officers of the United States, and must
now take all the responsibilities of the position
in which they have placed themselves, being
answerable to the laws of Mexico and Califor-
nia.
" I have now for the first time heanl of this
movement, and in making the most positive
disavowal, for myself and for my Government,
having in any wise instigated or aided this. I
also disavow the same on the part of Captain
Fremont, United States topographical engineer,
now in the country for scientific purposes.
" If my individual efforts can be at any time
exercised to allay violence or prevent injury to
innocent persons, it shall be exerted; but as an
officer of the Government of the United States
I cannot have anything to do with either party.
They must take the responsibilities of their own
acts. From what has already transpired I think
it clear that no violence will be committed on
any one who is not found with arms in their
hands. You will assure General Don Guada-
lupe Vallejo of my sympathy in his difficulties;
but I cannot positively interfere in the hical
politics of California."
Senor de la Rosa then thanked Captain AFont-
gomery for his sentiments and sympatii}'; stateil
that all was distinctly undei'sfood and translated,
and that he Would place his statement in the
hands of Don Guadalupe Vallejo at tiie earliest
moment.
" I hereby certifythat the ])receding statement
is a fair translation (^i' the message and rej)ly
read to Captain Montgomery and Senor de la
Rosa.
" (Signed) W. A. Ii.vkti.ktt,
" l>ieutenant United States Navy,
" United States ship I'ni'txiiioiitlt, Saucelito,
June 15, 18-1(;."
m
nrsTonr of soNo^fA rorxrr
[copy of OKDEK to r.IKlTENANT MISSl{(iOX.]
" T^NiTKD States Sill I' Poktsnioitii,
"San Francisco, June 15, 1S4G.
" Stir. — IJy an especial messenger sent to me
by Don (4nailalnpe Yallejo. I am notified of the
forcible occupation of tlie town of Sonoma by
a party of insurgents (foreign residents) of the
country, among wliom are said to be some per-
sons from tlie United States, and that General
Don Guadalupe Yallejo, with several other
Mexican officers, have been sent prisoners to the
Sacramento and threatened to be detained as
hostages for the quiet submission of the sur-
rounding country, leaving their families and
other inoft'ensive persons in and about Sonoma
in a painful state of agitation through apjire-
hcnsions of violence and cruel treatment from
the insurgent party in charge of the town. In
consequence of this state of things. General
Yallejo has appealed to me, requesting the in-
terposition of any authority or influence I may
possess over the insurgents to prevent the perpe-
tration of acts of violence on their part upon
the defenseless people.
"1 have, in ray reply to (General Yallejo (by the
messenger), stated my previous ignorance of
the popular movement in question; distinctly
and emphatically disavowed all agency of the
United States Government or myself as her
representative in producing it, and disclaimed
all right or authority to interfere between the
opposing parties or in any M'ay to identify my
movements with theirs. But, in compliance
with the urgent calls of humanity, I deem it
m}- duty to use my friendl}' endeavors with the
dominant party to secure (by the power of God)
for the defenseless people of Sonoma that
security of life, jiroperty and privilege to which
all are entitled.
" In pursuance of these views, sir, you are di-
rected to ])roceed in one of the sliip's boats to
Sonoma, and, on your arrival there, you will
wait on the officer or person commanding the
party having possession of the town; and as it
is possible he is not fully aware of the extent
and nature of the feelings produced in the
iTiinds of the population by this recent move-
ment you will inform him of the state of appre-
hension and terror into which it seems to have
thrown them, and disclaiming all right or pur-
pose on my part of interference between them
and their actual opposers; and without touching
upon the merits of their cause further than may
not be avoided in course of conversation, be
pleased (in such terms as your own sense, of
propriety will dictate) respectfully to request
from me, that he will extend his protecting care
over the defenseless families of their prisoners
and other inoffensive persons of Sonoma, and
exert his infiuence with others in order to secure
to them the uninterrupted enjoyment of their
domestic and social privileges.
"You will afterward wait on the Alcalde, or
presiding civil officer of Sonoma, and inform
him of what has been done (at the instance of
Don Guadalupe Yallejo), communicating any
satisfactory assurances which you may have re-
ceived from the insurgent chief calculated to
allay the general apprehension; after wliicli,
when sufficiently I'ecruited, you will return to
this ship and render to me a written report.
"Respectfully, I am, sir, yourobedient servant
" (Signed), John B. "Monti jomkkv,
" Commander.
" To Lieutenant John S. Missroon, Executive
Officer United States ship Portsiaouthy
Al'l'ENDAGE To MR. MISSROOn's OlIDKK.
" Dear Sir: — As an appendage to the orders
handed you last evening, I wish you to endeavor
in as forcible a manner as possible, to represent
to the person or persons of the insurgent jiarty
with whom you may confer at Sonoma and to
impress their minds with a sense of the advan-
tages wliich will accrue to their cause (whatever
its intrinsic merits may be) from pursuing a
course of kind and benevolent treatment of
prisoners, as well as toward the defenseless in-
habitants of the country generally, with whom
they may have to do, and endeavor, as far as
propriety will permit, to obtain a promise of
Hr STORY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
kind and luiiiiane treatment toward General
Vallejo and his conipaniuns in their possession
as prisoners.
" I am, sir, respectfully, your obedient servant
" (Signed) John B. Mo.ntgomerv,
>' Commander.
" To Lieutenant John S. Missroon, United
States ship Portsnujath. "'
Report of Lieutewnit JIi>i»rooii on /lia return
from Sonoiio', ir/t/i accoiiijiaui/hnj docu-
ment " B."
'• Unitkd Statks Snii' PuKTsMnrrn,
" Sa.n Francisi(j, June 17, 1846.
Sir: — In pursuance of your order of the 16th
instant, to proceed to Sonoma and endeavor by
all proper means in my power to secure to the
females and unoffending portion of tiie popula-
tion of that district some degree of security for
their persons and property during the occupancy
of the place by certain insurgents, chiefly
foreigners, I have the honor to report, in ol)edi-
ence to that order, that I left the ship on the
day of receiving your instructions, and reached
the town about sunset, where I found about
twenty-iive men under arms, and having six or
seven pieces of artillery with several hundred
stand of arms. The whole party is only thirty-
five.
"I waited upon the commanding officer, Wm.
I>. Ide, and received from him both verbal and
written assurances of his intention to maintain
order and to respect both the jiei'soiis and prop-
erty of all persorrs residing within the limits of
his command. He also handed nie a copy of a
proclamation which he had issued on the day
after his occupation of the town, and which I
herewith present to you, marked " A," in which
you will observe that these promises of pi'otec-
tion are set forth in explicit terms, and which 1
would remark to you, seemed to me to have fully
assured the inhabitants of their safety, although
Sonoma is evidently under martial law.
" By tiiis proclamation you will also observe
that California is declared to be an independent
republic. The insurgent party has hoisted a
ffuff with a white field, with a liorder or stripe
of red on its lower ])art, and having a star and
bear upon it.
" I informed the commanding otticer of the
state of terror into which his movement uiicm
Sonoma had thrown the inhabitants in and
about the Verba IJuena, as directed by my
instructions.
" I then waited upon the Alcalde of the place,
informed him throiigh my interpreter that my
visit was entirely of a peaceful character, and
that it had been induced liy the message which
my commander had received from the late
Mexican commander. General Vallejo, now a
prisoner in the hands of the insurgents, asking
his (my commander's) interference for the pro-
tection of females and unoffending inhabitants;
that assurances of respect and protection were
freely given me by the commanding officer of
the party under arms, and that I explicity made
it known to him, for the information of the sur-
rounding country, that my commander dis-
claimed any and all interference in the matter
other than what was dictated by motives of
humanity.
" After these interviews I then called upon the
family of General Vallejo and moderated their
distress, by the assurance of safety for the Gen-
eral, whicli I had received, and informing tlain
that the prisoners were held as hostages.
" Having completed the object for which I
went to Sonoma, I left the place yesterday with
the thanks of both parties, about meridian, and
reached the ship about sunset. Before taking
my departure I deemed it best to reassure the
Alcalde, in order to prevent any necessity for
future explanation, which is so apt to grow out
of a business transacted with Mexicans, especi-
ally through an interpreter. I therefore ad-
dressed the letter marked " B,'' appending to it
the written pledge, or a copy of the pledge,
which I had obtained from the commander of
tiie foreigners in possession of the place, and
whicii I herewith hand you a co]>y of
"It only remains, sir, for me to add that, so
far as I could judge and observe, the utmost
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
hrti-inoiiy and guud order prevail in tlie camp,
and tliat 1 liavo every reason to believe that the
pledges of kind treatment toward all wlio may
fall into their hands will be faithfully obseri-ed.
>' Respectfully, sir, your obedient servant,
"(Signed). d. S. Misskoon,
'> First Lieutenant United States ship Portn-
nnnith.
"To Conmiander J no. J!, ^iontgoniery. com-
manding United States ship 7'"/'i.s//<'>Mi'/', JSayof
San Francisco."'
Document " ij," arcumpiunjinij the fdrcijiiiinj
report.
" SiiN<iMA, June 17, 1846.
"Sik: — As you were informed yesterday,
through my interpreter, my visit to this place
is of a strictly inediatorial character, and was
induced by the application of General Vallejo
through his messenger, Senor Kosa, to Captain
Montgomery, requesting of him to ' adopt
measures for tlie protection of the females and
peaceable inhabitants of Sonoma.
" I have the pleasure to assure you of the
intention of the foreigners now in arms and
occupying Sonoma, to respect the persons of all
individuals and their property, who do not talve
up arms against them, and I leave with you a
copy of the pledge which the commander of the
])arty has voluntarily given to me, with a view
to the pacification of all alarm.
>■ KespectfuUy, your obedient servant.
"(Signed). J. S. Misskoon,
" Jjieutenant United States Navy."
"to the alcalde of so.nhma.
" I pledge myself that I will use my utmost
exertion to restrain and prevent the men in
arms under my command, all iif whom present
acknowledge my authority and approve the
measure of forbearance and humanity, from jier-
petrating any violence, or in any manner molest-
ing the peaceable inhalntants, in pei-son or prop-
erty, of California, while we continue in arms
for the liberty of California.
" (Signed), Wm. B. Iue,
" Commander.
" AVitness to the above signature,
"(Signed), J. S. Misskoon,
" Lieuteiumt United States Navy, and Execu-
tive Otiicer of the United States ship l'ortt<-
iiienith.
"So.NOMA, June 17, 184G."
The revolutionists were now master id' the
situation, having control of nine cannons anil
about two hundred muskets. "While AVMIliam
B. Ide, then the leader of the ISear Flag party,
may have been a man of some eccentricity of
character, he seems to have been a man of con-
siderable culture, and there is little room for
doubt that he shaped and controlled, to a large
degree, the conduct of those under him. It was
no sinecure position, this of Commander Ide.
It is true, the prisoners sent to Sacramento were
taken charge of by General Fremont, under the
saving clause that he had nothing to do with
their arrest — and it is also true that Commander
Montgomery of the Purtsinoiith in an unofficial
way, and in obedience to the dictates of human-
ity, sent Lieutenant Missroon to SononiH. to
counsel moderation and kindness on the part of
the revolutionists toward the vanquished; but
in neither case was there ought said or done
that could be construed into leaving the door
ajar for a safe retreat of the Bear Flag pai ty
out of their difficulty should their i-ebellion
prove abortive. To stand their ground and
successfully maintain their position under such
adverse circumstances re(juired not only nerve
but real heroism.
That they knew that they were acting outside
of the pale of any responsible authority is ap-
parent from the fact that one of the very first
matters to claim their consideration was the
adoption of a flag. There is little question tJiat
the bear flag was made on the day of the taking
of Sonoma, although it is quite possible it was
not completed so as to be hoisted until the
morning of the 15tli of June. As there has
been much controversy as to how and by whom
that flag was made, we give place to the follow-
ing which we believe to be authentic:
AVm. L. Todd in a letter to the editor of the
HISTORY OF SONOMA COCNTY.
Los Angeles E,vprci<s, under date of January
11, 1878, gives the following version of the
construction of the bear Hag:
"Your letter of the 'Jtii inst. came duly to
hand, and in answer I have to say in regard to
the nialcing of the original hear flag of Califor-
nia at Sonoma, in 184B, that when the Ameri-
cans, who had taken up arms against the Span-
ish regime, had determined what kind of a flag'
should be adopted, the following persons per-
formed the work: Granville P. Swift, Peter
Storm, Henry L. Ford and myself; we procured
in the house where we made our headquarters, a
piece of new unbleached cotton domestic, not
quite ayard wide, with stripesof red flannel about
four inches wide, furnished by Mrs. John Sears,
on the lower side of the canvas. On the xipper left
hand corner was a star, and in the center was the
image made to represent a grizzly he&r passant, so
common inthiscountryatthe time. The bear and
star "were painted with paint made of linseed oil
and Venetian red or Spanish brown. Underneath
the bear were the words 'California Kepublic'
The other person engaged with me got the ma-
terials together, while I acted as artist. The forms
the bear and star and the letters were flrst lined of
out with pen and ink by myself, and the two
forms were filled in with the red paint, but the
letters with ink. The flag mentioned by Mr.
Hittell with the bear rampant, was made, as I
always understood, at Santa Barbara, and was
painted black. Allow me to say, that at that
time there was not a wheelwright shop in Cali-
fornia. The flag I painted I saw in the rooms
of the California Pioneers in San Francisco, in
1870, and the secretary will show it to any per-
son who will call on him at any time. If it is the
one that I painted, it will be known by a mistake
in tinting out the words 'California Republic'
The letters were flrst lined out with a pen, and
I left out the letter ' 1,' and lined out the letter
'C' in its place. lint afterward I lined out
the letter ' I " over the ' (^ ' so that the last syl-
lable of ' Republic " looks as if the tw-o last let-
ters were blemled. Yours Respectfully,
" AVji. L. Todd. "■
On the occasion of the Centennial e.vercises,
held at Santa llosa on the 4th of July, 187(5,
General M. G. Vallejo made the following
statement in reference to the capture of Sono-
ma in 1846 by tlie Americans :
" I have now to say something of the epoch
which inaugurated a new era for this county.
A little before dawn on June 14, 1846, a party
of hunters and trappers, with some foreign set-
tlers, under command of C-aptain Merritt,
Doctor Semple and AVilliam B. Ide, surrounded
my residence at Sonoma, and without flring a
shot, made a prisoner of myself, then com-
mander of the northern frontier; of Lieutenant-
Colonel Victor Prudon, Captain Salvador A^al-
lejo, and Jacob P. Leese. I should here state
that down to October, 1845, I had maintained
at my own expense a respectable garrison at
Sonoma, which often, in union with the settlers,
did good service in campaign against the In-
dians; but at last, tired of spending money
which the Mexican Government never refunded,
I disbanded the force, and most ot the soldiers
who had constituted it left Sonoma. Thus in
June, 1846, the Plaza was entirely unprotected,
although there were ten war pieces of artillery,
with other arms and munitions of war. The
parties wdio unfurled the bear flag were well
aware that Sonoma was without defense, and
lost no time in taking ad vantage of this fact, and
carrying out their plans. Years before I had
urgently represented to the government of
Mexico the necessity of stationing a sufiicient
force on the frontier, else Sonoma would be
lost, which would be equivalent to leaving the
rest ot the country an easy prey to the invader.
AVhat think you, my friends, were the instruc-
tions sent me in reply to my repeated demands
for means to fortify the country ? These in-
structions were that I should at once force the
immigrants to recross the Sierra Nevada, and
depart from the territory of the Ilepublic.
To say nothing of the inhumanity of these
orders, their execution was physically iujpossi-
ble — first, because the iirimigrants came in
autumn wheu snow covered the Sierra so quickly
HISTORY OP iSONOMA COUNTY.
as tu make a ntm-ii iiiijiractieable. Under the
circiiiiiotitnces, nut only 1, but Cominandaiite
General Castro, resolved to provide tlie iinnii-
grauts with letters of security, that they might
remain temporarily in the country. We
always made a show of authority, i)ut well
convinced all the time that we had had no
power to resist the invasion, which was coming
upon lis. "With the frankness of a soldier I can
assure you that the American immigrants never
had cause to complain of the treatment they
received at the hands of either authorities or
citizens. They carried us as prisoners to Sacra-
mento, and kept us in a calaboose for sixty
days < r more, until the United States made
itself respected, and the honorable and hu-
mane Commudore Stockton returned us to our
hearths."
•' On the seizure of their prisoners the revo-
lutionists at once took steps to appoint a captain
who was found in the person of John Grigsby,
for Ezef<iel ilerritt wished not to retain the
permanent command; a meeting was then called
at the l)arracks, situated at the northeast corner
of the Plaza, nnder the presidency of William
15. Ide, Dr. Robert Semple being secretary. At
this conference Semple urged tlie independence
of the country, stating that having once com-
menced they must i)roceed, for to turn back was
certain death. Before the dissolution of the
convention, however, rumors were rife that
secret emissaries were being dispatched to the
Mexican rancheros, to inform them of the
recent occurrences, therefore to prevent any
attempt at a rescue it was deemed best to trans-
fer their prisoners to Sutter's. Fort, where the
danger of such would be less.''
In order that the conijuest of California
should be accomplished in a decent and orderly
way and the record thereof be properly handed
down to future generations, Captain William B.
kle formulated the following declaration of
purposes which was duly published to the world
on the 18th of June:
'' A proclamation to all persons and citizens
of the district of Sonoma rec^uestiug them to
remain at peace and follow their rightful
occupations without fear of molestation.
"The commander-in-chief of the troops as-
sembled at the fortress of Sonoma gives his
inviolable pledge to all persons in California,
not found under arms, that they shall not be
disturbed in their persons, their ]iroperty, or
social relation, one with another, liy men under
his co7ninand.
"He also solemnly declares his object to be:
First, to defend himself and conipanionsin arms,
who were invited to this country by a promise
of lands on which to settle themselves and
families; who were also promised a Republican
Government; when, having arrived in Califor-
nia, they were denied the privilege of buying or
renting lands of their friends, who instead of
being allowed to participate in or being pro-
tected by a Republican government, were op-
pressed by a military despotism; who were even
threatened by proclamation by the chief officers
of the aforesaid despotism with extermination if
they should not depart t)Ut of the country, leav-
ing all their |)roperty,arms and beasts of burden;
and thus de])rived of their means of flight or
defense, were to be driven through deserts
inhabited by hostile Indians, to certain destruc-
tion.
"To overthrow a government which has
seized upon the pros[)erity of the mission for its
individual aggrandizement; which has ruined
and shamefully oppressed the laboring people
of California by enormous exactions on goods
imported into the country, is the determined
purpose of the brave men who are associated
under my command.
•• I also solemnly declare my object, in the
second place, to be to invite all peaceable and
good citizens of California who are friendly to
the maintenance of good order and equal rights,
and I do hereby invite them to repair to my camp
at Sonoma without delay to assist us in estab-
lishing and perpetuating a Republican govern-
ment, which shall secure to all civil and religious
liberty; which shall encourage virtue and
literature; which shall leave unshackled by
HISTORY OF SONOifA COUNT F.
fetters agi-icii!tiire, coiuinerce ami mainifact-
ures.
" 1 t'urtlier declare that I rely upon the recti-
tude of our iiitentious, the favur of heaven and
the bravery of those who are bound and asso-
ciated with me by principles of- self-preservation,
by the love of the truth and the hatred of
tyranny, for my hopes of success.
•• I furthermore declare thai I believe that a
government to be prosperous and happy must
originate with the people who are friendly to its
existence, that the citizens are its guardians, the
otfieers its servants, its glory its reward.
•' William B. Iue."'
Thus far the revolution had been a bloodless
one,' but it was not destined to continue so to
the end. There were two occurrences of thrill-
ing character that came in (piick succession —
the killing of Cowie and Fowler and the battle of
Olompali. As Ilobert A. Thompson, who has
gathered much of the early history of Sonoma
Count}', got his information about the battle
referred to from one of the participants therein
we here incorporate his graphic account of those
two events.
About this time one of the most distressing
events of the revolution occurred. It was dis-
covered that the garrison had an insufficient sup-
ply of powder. It was known that Moses
Carson, at the Fitch ranch, on Russian River,
had some on hand. Two men named T. Cowie
and — Fowler, who had joined the party in
Napa, volunteered to go and get the powder.
They imprudently took the main traveled road,
or returned to it near Santa Rosa, and were
capture 1 by a scouting party, or, rather, a rov-
ing band of cut-throats and thieves under the
lead of Juan Padillo. The two men were
kept in the Carillio house all night. The next
morning they were taken up the little valley,
near the present county farm, were first inliu-
nianly treated, and then shot. Not satisfied
with this, their bodies were mutilated in a lior-
rid manner and were then thrown into a ditch.
An Indian named Chanatc, who knew the men,
told Mose Carson of their fate and condition,
and he came and buried them under a pine
tree, piling up a few rocks to mark the spot.
Finding that Cowie and Fowler did not re-
turn, there was much uneasiness in Sonoma.
A party was sent up the valley to make inquiry,
who learned the circumstances of their cruel
muider and mutilation. Two others of the
party who were out in search of horses, had
been taken, and it was feared that thej', too,
would be killed.
The Bear Flag men were not of the class to
suffer any indignity, much less a horrid outrage
like this. It demanded instant and exemplary
punishment. Volunteers were called for to go
in search of the murderers. The whole garri-
son volunteered. All could not go. Twenty-
three were selected and put under command of
Lieutenant W. L. Ford. Among the number was
Frank Bidwell, to whom the writer is indebted
for this account of the pursuit. Captain Ford
and his command came first to Santa Rosa. Pa-
dillo had fled. From Santa Rosa he went to the
Roblar de la Miseria, Fadillo's ranch. He was
there told by some Indians that the marauding
band had gone, some three hours before, to the
Laguna de San Antonio. Captain Ford pushed on
to that point and bivouacked half a mile from the
supposed headquarters. He charged upon the
house next morning and found only four men
there, whom he took prisoners. He left some
of his men to guard the prisoners and horses
which he had captured.
With fourteen men he continued the pursuit.
After a brief ride of a few miles he came to
the Olompali ranch, now Dr. Burdell's place, in
Marin County. He saw a number of horses in
a corral near the house apparently in charge of a
vaquero. He dashed up rapidly to prevent the
man in charge from turning them loose, as he
proposed to confiscate them. Getting nearer he
was astonished to see the Californians pouring
out of the house and hastily mounting their
already saddled horses. He had run upon the
combined forces of Captain Joaquin de la Torre
and the Santa Rosa murderers, numbering all
told eighty-three men. Both parties had been
lllSToUY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
surprised. Fortunately there was a willow thick-
et about sixty yards from the house. Wiiile
the enemy were getting in motion Captain
Ford ordered his men to fall back to the brush
and to dismount, tie their horses, take position
in the brush, and by no means to fire until
" sure of a man." There was a mountaineer in
the party who went by tlie name of "Old Red."
lie was a dead shot, and was stationed in the
upper end of the wood. Frank Bid well was
some distance below him. The Californians,
made bold by the supposed retreat, formed
their lines and came up handsomely. Their ad-
vance was led by a gallant young Sergeant.
All was still in the willows. The sharp crack
uf a rifle broke the silence, followed l)y a puff
of smoke, which burst through the brush. It
was "Old Red," who could not hold his tire.
This brought on the tight. Other shots came in
quick succession. In a very few moments eight
of the assaulting party lay dead upon the plain,
two were wounded, and a horse with an ugly
bullet-hole in his neck was struggling in the
tield. The young Sergeant was the last to fall,
whereupon the whole band broke for the cover
of the hills, receiving as they left a volley at
long range as a parting salute. Twenty-three
shots had been fired ; eleven took effect. '• Old
Red's" excuse for tiring so soon was, that he was
"sure of a man" anywhere in range.
As soon as the tight began a woman in the
house cut Todd's bonds, and he joined his com-
rades before it was over. Captain Ford rested on
his arms for some time thinking that the enemy
would rally and renew the tight, but they made
no sign. It was enough. He thereupon set
out on his return to Sonoma with his rescued
prisoners and his caj)tives. The captured horses
he drove before him as the spoil of war. Tlie
murder of Gowie and Fowler was avenged on
the tield of Olompali.
On the 20th of June, Castro made his tirst
move in the direction of trying t(j recover lost
ground north of the bay. On tiiat date Cap-
tain Joaquin de la Torre crossed tlie bay with
about seventy Californians and being joined by
Padea and Correo, took a position near San
Rafael. Of these movements F^remont was
speedily apprised, and now for the tirst time
gave o])en recognition of the claims of the rev-
olutionists upon him for active aid. On the
2.3d of June, Harrison Pierce, a pioneer settler
of Najja Valley made a forced ride of eighty
miles to Fremont's camp announcing the pres-
ence of Castro's troops on the north side of the
bayand the consequent peril of those who had cap-
tured Sonoma. He received a promise from Fre-
mont to come to their aid just as soon as he could
put ninety men into saddle. Pierce, with this
cheering news retraced the eighty miles fortnerly
passed over, with but one change of horse, and
soon carried the news to the little garrison at
Sonoma, that I^remont was coming. On the
evening of the A&y he had received the tidings
Fremont and his men were on their way toward
Sonoma. Of the make-up of F^-emont's force,
one of the party wrote as follows:
"There were Americans, French, English,
Swiss, Poles, Russians, Prussians, Chileans,
Germans; Greeks, Austrians, Pawnees, native
Indians, etc., all riding side by side and talking
a polyglot lingual hash never exceeded in di-
versibility since the confusion of tongues at the
tower of Babel. Some wore the relics of their
home-spun garments, some relied upon the an-
telope and the bear for their wardrobe, some
lightly habited in buckskin leggings and a coat
of war-paint, and their weapons were ecjualiy
various. There was the grim old hunter with
his long heavy ritie, the farmer with his double-
barreled shot-gun, the Indian with his bow and
arrows; and otiiers with horse-pistols, revolvers,
sabres, ships' cutlasses, bowie-knives, and pep-
per-boxes (Allen's revolvers)." Fremont, with
this incongruous l)and, made forced marches
and reached Sonoma on the morning of June
25th. After a rest F'remont started for San
Rafael in quest of Castro and Torre's forces.
Castro had not crossed over as supposed and
Torre was invisible. A decoy letter of Torre
fell into Fremont's hands the purport of which
was that Torre's force with some other imaginary
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
67
ally \va> tu prucecd against Sonoma. Fremont at
unce called tu saddle and his command went
toward Sonoma as fast as muscle and tendon of
mustang liorses would carry tliem. Arrived
there, Fremont became satisfied tliat lie had
been deceived, and ma<le swift haste l)ack
toward San Rafael; but it was of no avail —
the wiley Torre had succeeded in getting his
troops across the bay and was out of reach ut'
the clutches of the "Path Finder.'"
It was on this occasion of the return of
Fremont to San Rafael that occurred what has
the resemblance of wanton sacrifice of human
life. We allude to the shooting of Ramon and
Fi'ancisco de Haro. They were of a i-espectable
family living at YerbaBuena. They reacheti the
San Rafael Embarcaduro in a boat managed by
Jose R. Berryessa. The llaro's are said to ha\ e
been (|uite young — only si.xteen or eighteen
years of age. One version is that they were
taken prisoners, as spies, and were regularly
sentenced and shot. But the statement that
Bancroft seems to give credence to is, that when
they were seen to land. Kit Carson asked Fre-
niiint, on starting witli a sijuad of men to meet
them, whether he should take them prisoners,
and that Fremont's reply was, "we have no use
for prisoners.'' It is then claimeil that Carson
and his men as soon as in shooting distance
opened lire, killing them on the spot. The late
Jasper O'Farrel is given as the authority for this
version, and claimed to have witnessed the whole
transaction. Unless there is more light cast on
this transactit)!! than we have had as yet,
the killing of tiiosc young men will always seem
wantiin and ciiiel.
Captain \Villiam I). l*lielj)s of Le.\ington,
Massachusetts, who was lying at Saucelito with
his bark, the '• JIii.sc("i\" remarks, says Mr.
Lancey: -
'' When Fremont passed San Rafael in pursuit
of Captain de la Toi're's party, 1 had just left
them, and he sent me wonl that he would drive
them to Saucelito that night, when they could
not escape unless they got my boats. I hastened
back to the ship and made all safe. There was
a large launch lying near the lieach; this was
anchored further otl', and I put provisions on
board to be ready for Fi-emont should he need
her. ^Vt night there was not a boat on shore.
Tone's |»iirty must shortly arrive and show tight
or snri-ender. Toward morning we heard them
arrive, and to our surprise they were seen pass-
ing with a snniU boat from the shore to the
launch (a small boat had arrived from Yerba
Buena during the night which had proved their
salvation). I dispatclied a note to the com-
mander of the ' Portsuwitth,^ sloop-of-war, then
lying at Yerba Buena, a cove (tiow San Fran-
cisco) informing him of their movements, and
intimating that a couple of his boats could
easily intercept and cajiture them. Captain
Montgomery replied that not having received
any official notice of war existing he could not
act in the matter.
"It was thus the poor scamps escaped. Tliey
pulled clear of the ship and thus escaped sup-
ping on grape and canister which we had
prepared for them.
" Fremont arrived and camped ojijiosite my
vessel, the bark ' JLiscoir^' the following nig-lit.
They were early astir the next morning when I
landed to visit Captain Fremont, and were all
variously employed in taking care of their
horses, mending saddles, cleaning their arms,
etc. I had not up to this time seen Fremont,
but from reports of his character and exploits
my imagination hail painted him as a large-
sized, martial-looking man or persoinige, tower-
ing above his companions, whiskered and
ferocious looking.
" I took a survey of the party, l)ut eouM imt
discover anyone who looked, as I thought, the
cajjtain to look. Seeing a tall, lank, Kentucky-
looking chap (Dr. R. Semplc), dressed in a
greasy deer-skin hunting shirt, with trousers to
match, and which terminated just below the
knees, his head surmounted by a coon-skin cap,
tail in front, who, I supposed, was an officer as
he was giving orders to the men, I approached
and asked if the captain was in camp. He looked
and pointed out a slender-made, well-jiropor-
63
HISTOHY OF SONOMA VOUNTT.
tioneil man sitting in front of a tent, llis dress
a blue woolen shirt of somewhat novel style,
open at the neck, trimmed with white, and with
a star on each point of the collar (a man-of-
war's shirt), over this a deer skin hnnting shirt,
trimmed and fringed, which had evidently seen
hard times or service, his head unincumljered
l>y hat or cap, but had a light cotton handker-
chief bound around it, and deer skin moccasins
completed the suit, which, if not fashionable for
I'roadway, or for a presentation dress at court,
struck nie as being an excellent rig to scud
under or tiglit in. A few minutes' conversation
convinceil me that I stood in the presence of
the King of the Kocky Mountains."
Fremont remained in the neighborhood of
San Rafael until July ind, when he returned to
Sonoma.
On the 4th of July, our national holiday was
celebrated with due pomp and ceremony, and
on the 5th, the California Battalion of mounted
riflemen, two hundred and tifty strong, was
ori>-anized. Brevet Captain John C. Fremont,
Second Lieutenant of Topographical Engineers,
was chosen^commandante; First Lieutenant of
Marines, Archibald H. Gillespie, Adjutant and
Inspector, with the rank of captain. Both of
the gentlemen named were otlicers of the United
States Government, yet this organization was
consummated under the fold of the Bear flag that
yet kissed the breezes of the " Valley of the
Moon." The next day, the Gth of July, Fre-
mont at the head of his mounted riflemen,
started to make the circuit of the head of the
bay, to go south in pursuit of Castro. As
there were now no California soldiers north of
the bay it did not require a large garrison of
the bear party to hold Sonoma.
l)ut the end was hastening. On the 7th of
July Commodore John Drake Sloat having
received tidings that war existed between the
United States and Mexico, demanded and
received the surrender of Monterey. The news
was immediately sent to San Francisco, where
was anchored the American war vessel, PoHs-
)iiouth. At two o'clock on the moniing of July
9th, Lieutenant Warren lievere, left that vessel
in one of lier boats, and reaching the Sonoma
garrison, at noon of that day, lowered the l>ear
flag and hoisted in its place the stars and stripts.
And thus ended the bear flag revolution at
Sonoma. Lieutenant Keverc also sent Amer-
ican flags to be hoisted at Sutter's Fort and at
the establishment of Captain Stephen Smith at
Bodega.
Lieutenant lievere was sent to Sonoma by
Montgomery of the I'ortsmouth, to command
the garrison, consisting of Company B of the
battalion, under Captain Grigsby. Lieutenant
Grigsby tells us that "a few disartected Califor-
nians were still prowling about the district, in
pursuit of whom on one occasion he made an
expedition with sixteen men to the region of
Point Reyes. He did not And the party sought,
but he was able to join in a very enjoyable elk-
hunt." In August the Vallejos, Prudon,
Leese and Carrillo were released trom durance
vile, and restored to their families and friends.
That very amiable relations existed between
the victors and vanquished is evidenced by the
fact that in September, while Lieutenant Re-
vere was absent on an expedition, the Vallejos
were commissioned to protect the Sonoma
frontier with a force of Christian Indians. Some
date previous to Septemlier lltli. Lieutenant
John S. Mi.ssroon, of the Portsnidxitli, assumed
command of the Sonoma garrison.
On the 25th of September, a meeting of the
"Old Bears " was held at Sonoma, at which J.
B. Chiles presided and Jolin H. Nash acted as
secretary, and a committee of three was ap-
pointed to investigate and gather all the infor-
mation possible in relation to the action of the
bear flag party, and report at a subsequent
meeting. Semple, (Grigsby and Nash were
appointed the committee. Manuel E. Mcintosh
was now alcalde of Sonoma. From the bear
flag conquest of Sonoma, down to the discovery
of gold in California in 1S4S there is little to
note in connection with Sonoma. Grigsby,
Revere, Missroon and Bruckett were the succes-
sive military commaiidauts, and the Indians
in STORY op SONOMA dOUNTY. Cfl
were easily lield in suhjection by Vallejo as was then an inten-egnuni of military rule, after
snh-agent of Indian atl'airs. In 1848 Sonoma wiiicli John II. Nasii liecame alcalde, and
had a total population of about 260 souls. | was superseded in 18+7 by Lilburn W. Boggs,
-losr de los Santos Berryessa under Me.xican rule ■ who, aided by a council of six, administered tiie
had been at the head of municipal affairs. There ' municipal government of Sonoma until 1848.
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
CIIAl'TEK VIII.
TiiK Beai; Fr.AO. now made — xames of the revolutionists— State seal— General Mariano
(iiAHAMi-K \'Ar.i.i:,in — Gexerai. Johx A. Sctter— S"xoma District pioxeeus— Native Son^
(IF the (4()i.1)i:n- West.
fN the "Admission Day" edition of tlie
Sonoma Coiniti/ Demoprat of Septeinlier 9,
i>- 1885, jippuars tlie following. The writer, R.
A. Thompson, with whom we are well ac-
quainted, is painstaking and conscientious in
collating facts, and as he states that mnch of
his information is derived from actual partici-
pants, it is entitled to confident credence:
"The Independents were very proud of their
flag. The bear made an apt illustration of their
situation. The grizzly attended strictly to his
own business, and would go on munching his
berries and acorns if you let liim and his cubs
alone. If you undertook to crowd him out, or
to make him go any other way or any faster
than lie wanted to go he would show fight, and
when once in a tight he fought his way out or
died in his tracks.
The Independents were here, had cmne in
good faith, and come to stay; were quiet and
peaceable if let alone. General Castro under-
took to crowd them. His grandiloquent proc-
lamations were harmless, but vexatious. At
last the crisis came. The Inde])endents, weary
of threats and rumors of war, were forced, for
the sake of peace, to fight, and having "gone
in," to use the identical words of one of them,
they did not intend to " back out." The bear
was typical of that idea.
The difl'erence of opinion about the make-up
of the bear flag arises from the fact that there
was more than one made. The first was a very
iMulc affair. It is described in Lieutenant Miss-
roon"s rcjiort to Captain ^lontgomery. Lieu-
tenant Missroon arrived in Sonoma Tuesday, the
Ifith of June, about forty-eight hours after the
caj)ture. He i-ejiorts to Captain ^rontgomery
on the ITtli that "tlie insurgent party had
hoisted a jlaij with a white field, with a border
or stripe of red on the lower part, and having a
bear and star upon it." The words " California
Hepuldic " were not on it at this time, or of
course so important a feature would have been
noted by Lientenant Missroon, who was on a
sjjecial and e.xceedingly important mission from
his commander. That these words were after-
wards added is doubtless true. It is a matter
of ver}' little importance, luit if any one wishes
an exact description of the fiagas first raised, he
can satisfy himself by an examination of the
above-mentioned report. The flag with the bear
standing is an after production, as is also the
ttlSTORY Of 80NOMA COUNTY.
silk guerdon wliich Lieutenant Revere presentefl
to the pioneers. The description of the flag
given by Lieutenant Missroon accords witli tlie
account of several of the }>arty whom the writer
has personally interviewed. Of course, as tliere
were, several flags made; each dift'ered from the
other, in the material, I'rom whom the material
was obtained, by whom the flag was made, and
just how the flgures were placed upon it. Hence
the confused and many diverse acconrits of it.
All are right as to what they describe; but
what they descril)e is not the flag flrst raised by
the Independents. That was rather a rude
aflair. In fact, the representation of the bear
upon it resembled the species j^orcxis as much
as it did tlie urxux fero.r or horrihlUs.
There were tiiirty-three men in the Hear l^'iag
party, more than lialf of whom came from the
Sacramento Valley. Among the latter was the
brave and gallant blacksmith, Saraiiel Neal, and
Ezekiel Merritt, the captain of the company.
Following is the first list ever published of
the names of all the party. A number came
into Sonoma tlie day after the capture, and they
continued to come in for some time. It is very
ditticnlt to separate these from the actual mem-
l)crs lit tlie party who rode into Sonoma on the
morning of June 14th. The accompanying list
has been a number of years making, and has
been revised many times and corrected from
written records and by personal interviews.
There are, doubtless, still some errors, which
may be corrected upon a satisfactory showing:
Sa('ka:mknto ^'at.lky. — Ezekiel Merritt, R.
Semple, William Fallon, W. B. Ide, ILL. Ford,
(I. P. Swift, Samuel Neal, William Potter,
Sergeant Gibson, W. M. Scott, James (iibbs, II.
Sanders, P. Storm.
N.\i'A. Sainnci Kelsey, Penjamin Kelsey,
John Grigsby, David Hudson, Will Hargrave,
Harrison Peirce, William Porterfield, Patrick
McChristian, Elias I'.arrett. ('. Grittith, AVilliam
].,. Todd, Nathan Coombs, Lucien Ma.xwell.
Sonoma. — Franklin Pidwell, Thomas Cowie,
— Fowler, W. B. Elliott, licnjamin Dcwcll,
John Sears, 'Old lied.'"'
SEAT, o|.- I AI.IFOKNIA.
The convention which framed the Constitu-
tion of the State of California (1849), passed a
resolution appropriating $1,000 for a design for
the Official Great Seal. One was presented by
Mr. Lyons, of which he professed to be the
author; it represented the Pay of San Francisco,
as emblematic of the commercial importance ot
the city and State, with the goddess Minerva in
the foreground, illuslrating its sudden spring-
ing into maturity; and the Sierra Nevada in
the distance indicative of the mineral wealth of
the country. The motto was the Greek word
" Eureka " (I have found it). This was pre-
sented to the committee, which consisted virtu-
ally of Hon. John McDougal, his associate,
Hon. Rodman M. Price, being absent. General
McUongal was ]Jeased with the design, and
wished it adopted with little- or no alteration;
but finding that impossible, he consented to
several minor additions. Thus the figure of the
grizzly bear was added, as appropriate to the
only section of the country producing that
animal. This was especially insisted upon by
some members, conspicuous among whom was
the late Hon. -Jacob R. Snyder, then represent-
ing Sacramento County. The native Califor-
nians, on the other hand, opposed it, wrongly
supposing that its introduction was intended to
inimoi'talizc that event. The sheaf of wheat
and bunch of grapes was also adopted, as em-
blems of agricultural and horticultural interests
of the southern sections of the State, ]iarticn-
larly. With these exceptions the seal, as (1(>-
signed by Mr. Lyons, was that selected. After
it was accepted, some of the members claimed
the original design of it ft)r Major (iariiett,
who, however, had expresseil to Mr. Lymis, df
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
Lyonsdale (as with harmless affectation the
eccentric First Assistant Secretary loved to des-
ignate himself), a desire that he alone should
he known as its author. Dr. Wozencraft tried
to have the gold-digger and the hear struck
out, and General Yallejo wanted the hear re-
moved, or else fastened hy a lassoo in the hands
of a vaquero; hut the original suited the ma-
jority, and it was not altered.
September 29, 1849, Mr. Norton uttered the
following, which was adopted:
Fesoh-ed, That Mv. Caleb Ly..n i)e and he is
hereby autiiorized, to superintend the engraving
of the seal for the State, to furnish the same in
the shortest possible time to the Secretary of
the Convention, with the press and all necessary
appendages to be My him delivered to the Sec-
retary of State appointed under this Constitu-
tion, ami that the sum of .si, 000 be paid to
ilr. Lyon in full compensation and payment
fur the design, seal, ])ress, and all append-
ages.
Ji.'soh-td, That "the (Ireat Seal of the State
(if Califurnia " be added tu the design.
The seal is thus explained by its designer:
•'Around the bend of the ring are i-epresented
thirty-one stars, being the number of States of
whicii the Union will consist upon the admis-
sion of California. The foreground figure rep-
resents the goddess ifinerva liaving sprung
full-grown from tiie brain of ,hi]»iter. She is
introduced as a type of political birth of the
State of California, without having gone through
the probation of a Territory. At her feet
crouches a grizzly bear, feeding upon the clus-
ters from a grape-vine, emblematic of the
peculiar characteristics of the country.
"A miner is engaged with his rocker and
bowl at his side, illustrating the golden wealth
of the Sacramento, upon whose waters are seen
shipping, typical of commercial greatness; and
the snow-clad peaks of tlie Sierra Nevada make
up the background, while above is the Greek
motto, 'Eureka' (I have found), applying either
to the princijjle involved in the admission of
the State, or tlie success of the minei- at
work. Caleb Lv<>x,
" Of Lyonsdale, New York.
" AloxTE hi: V, Cai.., Sept.' 20, 1849."
ANOTHER VERSION.
The above gives the history of the adoption
of the great seal of the State, as shown b}' the
i-ecord. Following is another version of its
origin :
Major K. S. Garnett of the United States
army actuallj- made the design of the seal
whicli was adopted. He declined to claim it,
on the ground that the knowledge of the source
from which it came would prevent the adoption
of the design, owing to the hostility growing
up between the existing military authorities and
the nascent civil powers of California. Caleb
Lyon humbly asked leave of Major (xarnett to
appropriate and present it as his own. Major
Garnett replied that lie had no idea of reaping
either honor or reward from the design, and if
Mr. Lyon could reconcile it to his conscience to
represent himself as the author of another's
work, he was lieartily welcome to what he could
make of it.
The last account has about it the earmark of
truth, but as to which is the more reliable
account we leave to tlie decision of the reader.
GeNEUAI. ^[aRIANo GArDAI.t'PE Vaij.e.io.
A history of Sonoma County with General
M. G. Yallejo ignored would be like tlie play of
Hamlet with Hamlet left out. We visited him
in 1888, and were saddened by the evidences
apparent on every hand of decayed gentility.
That he was the friend of the Americans is not
a question of doubt — that the Americans prof-
ited by his prodigality and are now indifferent
to his needs are lamentably true. But his
name will reach farther down the annals of
history than it is in the power of gold to
purchase name and fame.
Mariano G. Yallejo was born in Alonterey,
July 7, 1808. His father, Ignacio Yincente
Ferrer Yallejo was a native of Spain, who came
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
in his youth to the State of Guadalajara, Mex-
ico. In 1774, wlien a young man, being of an
adventurous nature, he secretly joined an ex-
pedition under Captain Rivera for the explora
tion of Upper California. He was probably
with Captain Rivera's party on the 4th of
December, when the large wooden cross was
erected on the peninsula of San Francisco,
which his son, General Vallejo, says he saw
standing in 1829. At all events, he was an
eye-witness of the founding of the mission of
San Francisco, which event occurred October 4,
1776.
On his arrival in Monterey, Senor Ignacio
Vallejo saw for the iirst time his future wife.
It was the day of her birth. He then asked
permission of the parents of the infant to wed
their daughter when she should become of age.
Suhsequently, this proposition, made half in
jest, was renewed, the sefiorita then heing a
blooming young girl, and Seilor Vallejo a
bachelor of forty. The marriage proved a happy
one, and Mariano G. Vallejo was the eighth of
thirteen children, the fruit of the union.
Young Vallejo availed himself of every op-
portunity to improve his mind by reading and
study during his minority. He got possession
of a library when quite young, which was of
great service. From this source he probably
acquired a fund of information, which made
him the peer of the learned and distinguished
persons from all parts of the world, with whom
he was destined in after life to be ass(jciated.
At the age of sixteen years he was a cadet in
the army, and private secretary of Governor
Arguello.
In l.S2y he was jiIucimI in chargf of the I're-
sidio of San Francisco, which ])ositi(in he held
until 1834, organizing in the interval the first
city or town government of San Francisco.
(Tovernor Figneroa, the most ])opular of all
the Mexican Governors, had control of affairs
in 1834. Having learned that a large number
of colonists, some four hundred odd, were on
their way to (ialifornia from Mexico, lie deter-
■ mined to locate them in Sduoma, partly with
the view of shutting out the Ttussians. and
partly because it was one of the most inviting
spots to colonize over which he had ever cast his
experienced eyes. He selected Lieutenant A"al-
lejo as the most suitable of his officers to com-
mand the frontier and execute his plans.
Together they visited the country, taking in
their tour of observation the stronghold of the
Russian squatters at Ross. Returning to the
Santa Rosa Valley the Governor selected a
site on Mark West Creek for the future colon}',
giving it the name of " Santa Anna y Ferias,"
uniting these names prol)ably because he could
not tell which of the rival political chiefs would
be on top when he next heard from Mexico. He
left a camp of soldiers there who were under the
command of (4eneral Vallejo. The colonists
were under the direction of Senor Hihas, who
was a quarrelsome, ambitions and avaricious
man. (Tovernor Figueroa had received orders
to turn over the control of affairs to Hihas. On
his return from Sonoma he met a courier with
orders, countermanding the former instruction,
and continuing the direction of affairs solely in
his own hands.
The colonists arrived in March, 1835, and
were temporarily quartered in Sonoma. Hihas
and his coadjutors among the colonists wei-e
mnch disaffected, and threatened rebellion.
Figueroa ordered their arrest. This order was
executed by General Vallejo with much skill
and judgment, without bloodshed or any per-
sonal collision. Hihas and his cosmopolitan
company were taken to San Francisco, and were
soon after sent Jiack to Mexico.
(ieneral Vallejo remained Iti charge of the
fi'ontiei'. He removed his headquurtei's from
Santa Anna y Ferias, on Mark West, to Sonoma,
when, liy order of Figueroa, he, in the month
of June, 1835, established the town of Sonoma.
(ieneral Figueroa died soon after these events.
His successor, (iovernor Carrillo, was deposed
by Alvarado. The new governor appointed
(Toneral Vallejo to the position of Command-
ante (Tfueral of the frontier.
In this position (xeueral Vallrjn did all in his
74
HISTORY OF SONOMA GOV NT Y.
powei' to promote tlie settlement of the frontier.
Expeditions were sent ont against the Indians,
agricnltnral industries were extendeti, and the
raising of cattle, sheep and horses was in (>verv
wa}' en con raged.
Between 1840 and 1845 a large numljiT of
immigrants came to northern California. Tliey
were well received by the General, though the
home government was continually " nagging"
him because he did not send tlie foreigners ont
of the country, at the same time giving him
neither men nor means to carry ont their order.
Jn the early part of the vear 1840, affairs in
California were rapidly approaching a crisis.
In April, a junta was called to meet at Monterey
to consider the condition of affairs. Revere gives
a summary of some of the speeches made.
That of General A'^allejo was as follows:
"I cannot, gentlemen, coincide with the mili-
tary and civil functionaries who have advocated
the cession of our country to France or Eng-
land. It is most true that to rely any longeron
Mexico to govern and defend ns would be idle
and absunl. To this extent 1 fully agree with
my colleagues. It is also true that we possess
a noble country, every way calculated, from posi-
tion and resources, to become great and power-
ful. For that very reason I would not have her
a mere dependency upon a foreign monarchy,
naturally alien, or at least indifl'erent to our in-
terests and our welfare. It is not to be denied
that feeble natinns have in former times thrown
themselves upon the protection of their power-
ful neighbors. The I>ritons invoked the aid of
the warlike Saxons, and fell an easy prey to
tiieir protectors, who seized their lands and.
treated them like slaves. Long before that
time, feeble and distracted provinces had
ajjpealed for aid to the all-conquering arms of
imperial Rome, and they were at the same time
protected and subjugated by their grasping
ally. Even could we tolerate the idea of depend-
ence, ought we to go to distant Europe for a
master? What possible sj'mpathy could exist
between us and a nation separated from us by
two vast oceans;! Bnt wniving this insu]ierable
objection, how could we eiulure to cdmo under
the dominion of a monarchy? For, althdugh
others speak lightly of a form of goverment, as
a freeman, I cannot do so. We are republicans
— badly governed and badly situated as we are —
still we are all, in sentiment, republicans. So
far as we are governed at all, we at least profess
to be self-governed. Who, then, that possesses
true patriotism will consent to subject himself
and his cliildrfu U\ the capi-ices of a foreign
king and his official minions? lint it is asked,
if we do not throw ourselves upon the ])rotec-
tion of France and England, what shall we do?
I do not come here to support the existing order
of things, but I come prepared to propose in-
stant and ett'ective action to extricate our country
from her ])resent forlorn condition. My opin-
ion is made up tliat we must persevere in
throwing oil the galling yoke of Mexico, and
proclaim our independence of her forever. V\e
have endnreil her official cormorants and her
villainous soldiery until we can endui-e no
longer. All will probably agree ^\itll nic that
we ought at once to rid ourselves of what may
remain of Mexican domination. But some
profess to doubt our ability to maintain our
position. To my niind there comes no doubt.
Look at Texas, and see how long she withstood
the power of uTiited Mexico. The resources of
Texas were not to be compared with ours, and
she was niucli nearer to her enemy than we are.
Our position is so remote, either by land oi'
sea, that we are in no danger from Mexican
invasion. Why, then, should we hesitate still
to assert our independence? We have indeed
taken the first step by electing our own (gover-
nor, but another remains to be taken. I will
mention it plainly and distinctly — it is annex-
ation to the United States. In contemplating
this consummation of our destiny, I feel noth-
ing but pleasure, and 1 ask you to share it.
Discard old prejudices, disregard old customs, and
prepare for the glorious change which a^-aits
our country. Why should we shrink from in-
corpoi-ating ourselves with the happiest and
freest nation in the world, destined soon to lie-
niSTORT OF SONOMA COUNTY.
tlie most wealtliy and powerful^ ^^'^I'y should
we go abroad for protection when this gi-eat
nation is onr adjoining neiglilior? When we
join our fortunes to liers, we shall not become
subjects, but fellow-citizens, possessing all the
rights of tlie people of tlie United States, and
choosing our own federal and local rulers. We
siiall have a stable government and just laws.
California will grow strong and flourish, and her
people will be prosperous, happy and free. Look
not, therefore, with jealousy upon tlie hardy
pioneers who scale onr mountains and cultivate
onr unoccupied plains; l)ut rather welcome them
as brothers, who come to share with us a com-
7non destiny.''
Lieutenant Revere was in Monterey when the
junta met; its prx^ceodings were secret, but he
says it was notorious that two parties existed in
the country, and that General Vallejo was the
leader of the American party, while Castro was
at the head of the European party. lie says he
had his report of the meeting from documentary
evidence, as well as sketches of the principal
speeches. He also says that so soon as General
Yallejo retired from the junta he addressed a
letter to Governor Pio Pico embodying the views
he had expressed in his speech and refusing ever
again to assist in any project having for its end
the establishment of a protectorate over Califor-
nia by any other power than the United States.
At last the long threatened storm broke upon
the town of Sonoma, and its commandante and
little garrison were captured by the Americans,
(leneral Vallejo was kept as a prisoner for about
a month, and released i)y order of Commodore
Stockton.
General Vallejo, speaking of the condition of
affairs in Northern California previous to the
taking of Sonoma, said:
" Years before I had urgently represented to
the Government of Mexico the necessity of
stationing a sufficient force on the frontier, else
Sonoma would be lost; which would be equiva-
lent to leaving the rest of the country an easy
prey to the invader. AVhat think yon, my
irieiids, were the instructions sent me in reply
to my repeated demands for means to fortify the
country? These instructions were that 1 slumld
at once force the immigi-ants to recross the
Sierra Nevada and depart from the territory of
the Republic. To say nothing of the in-
humanity of these orders, their execution was
ph^'sically impossible; first, because I had no
military force; and second, because the immi-
grants came in the autumn, when snow covered
the Sierra so quickly as to render return im-
practicable. Under tiie circumstances not only
L but Commandante-General Castro, resolved to
provide tlie immigrants with letters of security,
that they might remain temporarily in the
country. We always made a show of authority,
but were well convinced all the time that we had
no power to resist the invasion which was coin-
ing in upon us. With the frankness of a sol-
dier I can assure j'ou that the American immi-
grants never had cause to complain of the
treatment they received at the hands of either
authorities or citizens."
General Vallejo on his release at once made
his great influence as a friend of the United
States felt throughout the country. He took
active interest in public affairs always on the
side of order and good government. lie was
elected a member of the Constitutional Conven-
tion which met in Monterey, and was a Senator
from the Sonoma District in the first Legislature
of California. And from that period down to
the present he has been an enterprising, useful,
and honored citizen of Sonoma. In priority of
settlement, he is the first of the 35,0(10 inlialii-
tants now living in this county.
On the 6th of March, 1832, he married
Senorita Benicia Francesca Carillo, who still
survives with her distinguished husband.
In person General Vallejo, even at his ad-
vanced age, is a strikingly handsome man. lie
is tall and erect in carriage, with the military
air of one disciplined to arms in his early youth.
He is a brilliant conversationalist, an eloquent
s]i(>aker, even in English, which he acquired late
in lilc. To these accomplishments may be addi^d
the liT.icc of gesture and manner wliicii he in
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
lierits with his hinoc
cavaliers.
from an ancestry of Spanish
A. SiTTKi;.
(Ji:nekai, .
As tlie name of Captain Jolin A. Sutter is so
intimately woven with the iiistory of tiie State
as to be a part of the same, and as his purchase
of the Ross property identified him directly
with the early history of Sonoma County, \vc
give place to the following letter written by
him in 1845. It is interesting as showing the
real conditions in California at the time it was
written :
Nkw Helvetia, 1st Jan., 1845.
Sir and Dear Friend: — My reasons for not
writing sooner is that I lacked an opportunity,
since j-our young man was afraid of bad
weather.
I was in hopes all the time that perhaps I
might have the pleasure of seeing yon at Verba
Buena.
I spoke to Mr. Snyder and Alemans, M'ho
lioth ])romised to go to Sonoma and pay yon a
visit. The representation, etc., for Mr. ( 'astill-
ero, I have left in the hands of Mr. Forbes, and
hope that the former will have received them
before his departure fromCalifornia to Mexico.
I was astonished to hear over there the news
that I had sold mj' establishment to the Govern-
ment, and in fact Mr. Estudillo told me that
yon had gone to see those gentlemen at the
Moquelumne River, so that it seems that they
have not kept the matter secret. What is your
opinion about it, sir^ Do you think that the
Government \vill buy it? I wish I was certain
of that, so that I might take the necessary
measures. In case the Government decided
about this purchase, do yon think it would be
possible to obtain a part of the sum on account.
enough to pay a part of my debts?
1 could put them in possession of the estab-
lishment at the end of the harvest. It seems
to me that the Government ought not to neglect
that affair; for next autumn many emigrants
are bound here from the United States, and one
thing comforts me, that there will be many
Germans, French ami Swiss amongst them. I
have received letters to that etfect from a few
friends, through the last little party of ten men.
At all events, nothing conUI be more neces-
sary for the (Government than a respectable posi-
tion here, in this place.
Among the emigrants who intend coming,
are gentlemen of great means, capitalists, etc.
liy some letters that I have received from
New ^ ork, I see that one will bring over all
the machinery tit for two steamers; one is
destined to be a coaster, while the other will sail
the l)ay to Sacramento. The Russians (or
Russe) will also bring a little one for the Cap-
tain Leidesdorff, and the Russian Captain (or
the Captain Russe) Leinderherg, my friend, has
made me a present of a little machine large
enough for a sloop, which he had made for his
pleasure; tliat will i)e very nice for the river.
The Dr. McLonghlin, at Vancouver (Columbia),
has retired from the Hudson Bay Co., and in-
tends to come and live here. He will give a
new impnlse to business; he is the great protec-
tor of agriculture. A ship is going to bring us
printing material, and I intend to have a news-
paper published, half Spanish, half English.
Such progress are made throughout civilization,
and here we are so much behind. E]ven in
Tahiti, there is a lithography, and a newspaper
is published: FS Oceanic Francaisr.
We expect a ship from New Vork in the
course of about a month; it will bring us all the
necessary implements of agricidture selected on
purpose for our valley, comprising many plows,
with farmers' garments, etc., etc. This shij)
would enter without paying the Custom House
duties, if the thing was possible, or, at least, pay
them at a moderate rate; or do you think that
arrangements could be made with Wv.
by paying him four or six thousand dollars,
that he might let the ship enter for the benefit
of the inhabitants of Sacramento. This would
render him quite popular among us; the advan-
tage derived for the country would be great; the
inhabitants of would have the same ad-
vantage as we. In April will arrive another
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
sliip, witli iiMotlier cargo well suited for our
valley. The proprietor of these two ships are
very rich, and t'onn one of the wealthiest firms
in New York and I^ondoii. They contemplate
l)uving a lot near the I'ay or Sacramento River,
to open warehouses, and keep a stock (.>f articles
we may need. They would sell on credit to all
tliL' larmers who would desire their trust, and
take in [i;iyineut wheat or any other of the pro-
ducts of the country, as well as a great quantity
of salted salmon. The other merchants wJio
transact husiness in this unfortunate country,
rcl'use to receive anything hut leather and tallow.
This is the ruin of the country. If there was
sucli a market and such a competition open, you
would soon &ee a great difference.
I liope that you will find some means of hav-
ing that ship enter; pei'haps Mr.
can assist you in the matter; (indeed I
have heard that he was on very good terms
with the jovial cajjtain), and that affair ought to
have (juite as much interest for him as for us.
1 regret very much heing so far from you,
and not having more opportunities of corre-
sponding, which is e8]jeciaily the case in winter.
I wish you could write to me as soon as pos-
sible, for I feel convinced that you would easily
settle these affairs, since your position as secre-
tary to , and your friendly terms with
Capt. ■ are advantages which would soon
lead us to enrich ourselves, with good manage-
ment.
The Capt. Fremont of the United States
Army has gone to meet his other company,
commanded by the Capt. Walker (under his
orders), who had been sent after the discovery
of another passage through the mountains,
more to the south; I expect them daily; they
will spend the winter here, and depart again
in spring for Columbia.
Another small party of ten men has arrived
since from the United States; this will be the
last; they were fortunate in escaping the snow
which fell in great abundance in the mountains
at their arrival.
Samuel Smith has been here during my ab-
sence to Yerba Huena, and unfortunately I for-
got to leave orders for his arrest. They told
him that 1 had orders to detain him a prisoner,
and he answered that he would conje another
time when I should be present, but that he did
not care to be a prisoner; since then he has imt
returned.
I believe that he is still somewhere on the
other side, and that he is likely to join, by and
by, the company now preparing to go to
Columbia. Anuuig the people in the upper
valley are a few bad characters who stole some
of my horses, and some mares and cows of Mr.
Corelua's. They are disposed to steal a great
deal more, and intend coming near Sonoma l)e-
fore their departure, to steal as many cattle as
possible. We must try to imprison some of
the principal ones, and I hope I can depend on
Capt. Fremont and his men. He will doubtless
enable me to make his countrymen prisoners,
for, to look over such acts, would be the worst
influence for the future. However, in case Air.
Fremont refuses to assist in the capture of the
worst of his countrymen, I shall try to do it
alone; and if 1 have not sutticient power to suc-
ceed, 1 shall write to Mr. Vallejo for an auxil-
iary, etc., etc.
It was with the greatest displeasure that I
heard from Mr. Wolfsquiell, who came here
from Los Angeles, of that bad rascal Fluggo not
being dead, but hope that you will do your best
to secure that lot of ground which will )irove,
no further than next year, a fortune for you
I hope that Mr. Covarubias will assist you.
In a few weeks the lauiiche will come to
Sonoma with some of Heaulieu's garments, and
will bi'ing at the same time some tanned leather
for Mr. Vallejo. I therefore beg that you would
deliver the ten fanegas of wheat to JMaintop,
(captain of the launche). If you have any
corn, 1 shall buy some. As lor the deer skins
which you ha\f, 1 shall write by the same
means ami tell you whether I shall take them
or not.
How inconvenient it is for us in the north,
that the capitol should be so far distant. It
U J STOUT OF SONOMA VOUNTY.
takes at least four or iive mouths before receiv-
iug au answer; it would be almost as well uot
to write at all, for it tires one so inucli.
I make uo more reports to the Governuient,
e.\ce[)t to Mr. Castro, as he is the nearest, and
he can make his statement to the i;overnmeut if
he judges it necessary.
1 have not as yet received an answer from
the I'adre Real about the letter that you were
kind enoiiuli to write for me abotit fruit trees
and vines.
Vuu know that Mr. Castro has given me the
permission of receiving as much as I needed.
Advise me, if you please, un what 1 can do.
Will it be possibe to receive "some vine trees"
in Sonoma? If you could have them ready in
about three weeks, something like 2,000 of
them, 1 would pay you as much as they cost.
If I have vines here, you can have them
(|uite near your farm. {^'.'iV)
Leidesdortf is appointed agent of the Co.
Amer. Ilusse, to receive the products from me,
and iiuy from them. I had the pleasure to see
the Captain de Lion, Mr. I5onnet, who told me
the troop alone in Marquesas and Tahiti, leav-
ing out the inhabitants, consume (550 arobas of
tlour a day, and that the Govei'iiment would pre-
fer to send here for the provisions, if we can
sell them at the same price as in Chili, i?;! the*
quintal; we could very well compete at that
price if that cursed Custom House ceased to
exist.
If this country dei'ived any utility from the
Custom House one would not complain so
much, but it is only good to provide for a lot of
useless officers who devour the very marrow of
the country. If at last a pajier could be pub-
lished that would unseal the blind men's eyes,
1 trust that you may take a ])art and interest in
that affair of printing.
I am now constructing ii mill with two pairs
of mill-stones, for a great (juantity of flour will
be needed next autumn when the enugrants
arrive.
A much better road, some -iOO miles shorter,
has been discovered, and the Captain Fremont
I has also found in the last chain of mountains a
much easier passage than the otie known so far;
every trip they make some new discovery. I
can assure you that in five years more there will
[ be a railroad from the United States here. 1
I can see that. Already the llocky Mountains
commence to be peopled, where eight years ago
' I could see nothing bnt deserts with Indians,
and where now stand quite consideraljle cities.
The crowd of emigrants arriving in the United
States increase the population to such an extent
that it will tind its way even to the Pacific
shores. A year and two more and no power
will be able to stop that emigration.
Next week you shall have more news from
your devoted friend,
J. A. Sl'ttek.
While the above letter shows that Captain
Sutter had an eye strictly to business, it also
shows that he took in the real situation and
knew that American rule was the ultimate des-
tiny of California.
We cannot better close this ciiajtter than by
appending the following names of those who
helped to establish permanent settlements on
the north side of San h'rancisco Hay:
SONOMA KISTKICT I'loNKEKS.
The "Society of California pioneers, compris-
ing the counties of Sonoma, Napa, Lake, Men-
docino and Marin," was organized December
25, 1867.
Those who arrived in California jirior to the
9th day of September, 1850, and their male de-
scendants, are eligible to membership. The
past presidents have been: Uriah Edwards,
1867- 68; Nicholas Carriger, lS68-'72; William
M. Boggs, 1872-'74; William McPherson Hill,
1874-"76; John Cavanaugh, 1876-"78; Julius
A. I'oppe, 1878-"79; Thomas EaH, 1879-81;
Daniel H. Davisson, 1881-'8L
The members are: William C. Adams, Louis
Adler, Hierre Augards, Stephen Akers, John
Abbott, S. J. Agnew, (J. S. Allen, J. M. Arm-
strong, Joseph Albertson, AV. G. Alban, Thomas
Allen, E. G. Alban, Horatio Appleton, N. H.
BISTORT OF SONOMA COUNTY.
Aiiiesbiiry, D. li. Alderson, John Hall Allison,
Charles H. Allen, W. F. Allen, Charles Alex-
ander, Charles G. Ames, William M. Boggs, J.
15. Beam, William II. Brady, Herman Barnh.
A. A. Basignano, E. Biggs, Louis Bruck. Edward
F. Bale, John Brown, Samuel Brown, William
Board, John F. lioyce, J. 8. Brackett, David
Burris, I. S. Bradford, R. Bunnell, R. T. Barker,
.W V. Barker, John N. Bailache, E. N. Boyntoii,
Ar. Barney, J. I). Beam, H. H. Brower, Will
mm V. Boyce, M. C. Briggs, H. AV. Baker, J.
W. Boggs, Erwin Barry, Sim H. But'ord, San-
ford Bennett, H. E. Boggs, Elias Barnett,
AVilliam Baldbridge, A. C. Boggs, John M
Boggs, George W. Boggs, Joseph O. Boggs,
Theodors W. Boggs, L. W. Boggs, Jr., J. N.
Bennett, P. G. Baxter, Jesse Jieasley, Z. Briggs,
Robert Brownlie, Jonathan E. Bond, Peter D
Bailey, John Bright, T. C. Brown, A. B. Bor-
rell, John Bailiff, William Bradford, 11. C.
Boggs, Nicholas (!arriger, Julio Carrillo, Will-
iam Corj', Columbus Carlton, John Cavanagh,
Howard Clark, G. W. Clark, Solomon H. Car-
riger, W. W. Carpenter, C. C. Carriger, A. E.
Carriger, B. L. Cook, T. S. Coo|)er, J. R. Cooper,
W. L. Copeland. R. Crane, J. Clark, O. W.
Craig, (i. AV. Cornwall, W. M. Coleman, E.
Coleman, H. K. Clark, S. 1!. Carpenter, Y . 1'.
Cook, D. Chamberlin, J. Cairn, O. Clark, W.
R. Coburn, 1). W. Carriger, J. L. Cook, J. J.
Cugill, Sr., L. Carson, J. C Crigler, J. Ciay-
niiui, J. Chiles, J. Custer, B. Capell, J. Cyrus,
A. J. Cox, S. Clark, L. Clia[)nian, JS'. Coombs,
\). C. Crockett, Dr. C. Crouch, AV. R. Cook, J.
Chauvet, H. Decker, JVl. Donohne, H. W. Dick-
inson, D. D. Davidson, W. Dorman, B. W,,.
Diffendurffei-, E. L. Davis, N. Dunljar, J. Dick-
enson, A. J. Dullarhide, J. W. Easter, T. Earl,
E. Emerson, J>. E. Edsall, L. F. Eaton, AV.
Edgington, A. Y. Easterby, W. Ellis, J. Fer-
nald, J. F. Fowler, J. M. Freeman, A. J. AV.
Faure, J. T. Fortson, J. Fulton, J. AV'. I'lavell,
H. Fowler, AV^ Fowler, W. A. Fisher, A. Far-
ley, S. AV. Faudre, F. Fisher, J. M. Gregson, T.
C. Grey, F. P. Green, (). Greig, J. Gibson, W.
Green, J. F. (ireen, J.Gallagher, W. W. (ireen-
ing, A. J. Gordon, J. Griffin, J. J. Goodin, Dr.
J. B. Gordon, G. G. (lardner, AV'. Gordon, C.
Griffith, J. Grigsby, R. A. Gill, G. Grigsby, P.
D. Grigsby, A. J. Galbiaith, J. T. Grigsby, E.
Gilleii, P. Gessford, J. Henly, AV. Hood, T.
Hopper, H. Hall, L. AI. Harmon, C. Humph-
ries, H. Hill, W. M. Hill, 1). Hudson, J. Henry,
T. B. Hopper, C. Hopper, B. Hoen, H. H. Hall,
S. H. Flyman, A. Hixson, A. Harasthy, L. C.
Hubbard, H. P. Holmes, J. AV. Harlan. T. F.
Hudson, AV. B. Hagans, C. Hazelrigg, J. 1).
Hollaway, AV. H. Holleday, J. B. Horrel, J.
Henry, AV. Hargrave, M. Hudson, J. Hudson,
J. Harbin, M. Harbin, (4. Hallet, AV. A. Has-
kins, J. Haskius, AV. A. Haskins, Jr., L. Hig-
gins, F. M. Hackett, J. H. Howlaud, I. Howell,
J. Howell, D. Howell, P. Howell, M. R. Hardin,
R. S. Hardin, C. Hartson, II. D. Hopkins, W.
Houx, A. Henry, L. Jlaskell, K. A. Harvey, M.
Ingler, R. Jones, B. Joy, E. Justi, E. K. Jen-
ner, D. Jones, C. Juarez, J. A. Jamieson, G. E.
Jewett, A. Krippenstapul, F. Keller, H. Kreuse,
A. Kohle, J. Knight, R. Kennedy, R. L. Kil-
burn, T. Knight, AV. Kilburn, I. Kellogg, AV.
W. Kennedy, A. W. King, 1. Kilburn, C. AV.
Lubeck, N. Long, R. Lennox, G. AV. I.,ewis, J.
H. Lane, C. H. Lamkin, J. A. Losse, J. Lut-
gens, H. H. Lewis, II. I). Lay, A. J. Lafevie.
15. Little, J. F. Lainden. J. 1>. Lamar, <i. Linn,
J)r. T. AL Leavenworth, H. Ludolph, J. E. Ale
Litos'', N. E. Manning, R. McGee, W. E.
McConnell, J. McLaughlin, AV. Mock, S. AIc-
Donough, AV. Montgomery, J. H. McCord, J.
M. Mansfield, R. G. Merritt, D. ]>. Alorgan, P.
McChristian, (4. W. McCain. A. J. Willis. J.
Munday, M. T. McClellan, J. IMcCormick, L.
AV. Mayer, J. AV. Morris, J. R. .Moore, Jr., A.
C. McDonald, AV. J. .March, AV. II. Alanlove. J.
LL Moore, J. .Martin, C. Alusgrove, AV. .Mc-
Donald, J. Aloran, 11. Mygatt, A. Monmert, G.
McMahon, R. McGarvey, \\ . Mclieynolds, AV.
H. Morri.s, J. Neil, P. G. Norburn. S. S. Noble,
AV. Neil, L. A. Norton, E. Neblett, AV. H. Nash,
J. M. Nichols, G. W. Gman, A. A. Olmstead,
A. P. Overton, 11. Ousley, S. Orr, J. H. Orr,
W. Ousley, J. N. I'almer, G. I'earce, AV. Potter,
ninrOKT OF SONOMA COUNT r.
J. C. Peavy, 11. J. Preston, J. Powell, M.
Powell, A. P. Petit, 0. Peterson, G. AV. Peter-
son, 1'. II. Plnirris, 11. L. Pierce, 1). Powell, T.
J. Poulterer, E. D. Phillips, S. Porter, J. I).
Patton, J. A. Pngli, T. Partiii, 11. Portertield,
E. 11. Pierce, P. Polsten, J. Y. Porter, D. Pat-
ton, J. Powell, R. Poppe, J. Poppe, C. Poppe,
1). Qiiinliven, J. Robeson, T. Rocliford, V.
Robin, C. Rogers, W. P. Reed, 11. Robinson, J.
M. Robers, J. L. Ronner, D. Ripley, T. W.
Richards, S. U. Rupe, J.Reynolds, A. F. Rede-
nieyer, J. Regan, G. Reeve, B. Robinson, J.
Robinson, B. L. Robinson, Col. Ritchie, A. J.
Raney, 8. F. Raney, W. li. Russell, J. Selling,
R. Spence, J. Smith, F. Starke, D. W. Sroufe,
N. O. Stafford, E. W. Sax, P. Sneed, P. Shar-
vein, J. W. Siiarp, D. Spencer, J. K. Smith, S.
M. Shinn, J. Sedgley, J. H. Seipp, J. Singley,
F. Sears, J. Stewart, A. Salaman. J. 11. Sturte-
vant, ('. J. Son, J. F. Shinn, C Stewart, T.
Smith, J.Stiltz, W. C. Smith, .1. .1. Swift, J.
Somers, A. Stines, Dr. B. Shurtleff, J. Short, S.
D. Towne, G. Tomking, E. Towne, W. S.
Thomas, C. C. Toler. C. Talbott, R. Tucker, J.
Tucker, G. Tucker, William Truebody, J. True-
body, John Truebody, W. Truebody, S. Tucker,
T. H. Thompson, AVilliani Topping, G. W.
Thompson, J. Udall, F. Ulilhorn, F. Vanllallen,
P. J. Vasquez, A. Von Quitzow, P. Van Berver,
A. J. Van Winkle, M. G. Vallejo, S. Vallejo,
D. Wharff, F. Wilsey, C. Weise, J. J. Weenis,
L. C. Woodworth, W. Webb, W. S. M. Wright,
Joseph Wright, H. L. AVeston, 11. M. Wilson, J.
A. Williams, J. Walton, A. A. White, D. AY.
AValker, J. Wooden, W. H. Winters, J. AYilson,
J. AVestfall, R. B. Woodward, C. B. AVines, J.
B. AValdan, J. M. AYhite, P. AVard, 1). Yurk,
11. York, J. York, L. W. Znager.
XATCVE SUNS IN SONOMA.
The tirst Parlor of the Native Sons of the
Golden AVest, instituted in Sonoma County, was
in the city of Petaluina. It took the appropriate
name of Bear Flag Parlor. It was organized
on the 1st of March, 1884, by District Deputy
Grand President Charles W. Decker, of San
Francisco, assisted by I'ast Grand President
Grady, Past Grand Secretary Lunstedt and
others. It is No. 27 in the order of its institu-
tion. The following persons were elected and
installed as its iirst othcers : J. B. Schlosser,
P. P.;M. E. C. Monday, P.; John F. Naugh-
ton, 1st A^ P.; C. R. Peters, 2d V. P.; AV. King,
3rd V. P.; Frank P. Doyle, Treas.; L. F.
Ellsworth, Roc. Sec; F. C. AVest, P^in. Sec;
Fred Chamberlain, Marshal; J. Fenger, 1. S. ;
James Wright, O. S.; A. Newburgh, C. AY.
Brascombe and F. Green, Trustees. Alter the
ceremonies were over, there v.-as an agreeable
entertainment, and Bear Flag Parlor was fairly
launched on its career of usefulness. The
following 11th of May, the Bear Flag boys
gave a picnic at Laurel Grove, San Rafael. All
into.xicants were ruled out of order, and a most
agreeable day was spent beneath the shade of a
grove of native laurels. Following is a complete
list of the present officers and members of the
Bear Flag Parlor, for which we are indebted to
the courtesy of Recording Secretary, 1). 11.
White :
Officers— Sr. P. P., AY. E. King; P. P., 11.
Mc C. Weston; Pres., C. E. Dillon; 1st V. P.,
Dan Brown, Jr; 2d V. P., AV. 11. Robinson; 3d
V. P., J. 1. Jewell; Rec Sec, D. \l. AVhite;
Fin. Sec, F. C. AVest; Treas., N. G. Crowley;
Mar., J. A. Fenger; O. S., F. E. Dowd; 1. S., R.
J. Facey ; Trustees, G. L. Young, J. F. Dolan and
H. C. Thompson; Surgeon, J. H. Crane, M. D.
JVIembers — M. Y. llolton, AV. A. Chapman,
W. F. Chamberlain, Chas. Towne, M. E. C.
Munday, C. H. Myers, J. R. Denman, J. T.
Studdert, L. B. Towne, J. ¥. Naughton, J. AV.
Cowles, J. Tighe, E. O. Lefebre, T. F. Purring-
ton, F. J. Bryan; S. (4. Stockdale, 11. J. East-
man, B. E. O'llara, J. E. Mallen, F. A.
Wickersham, J. Adler, C. E. Morris.
WKSTKKN STAK PAKI.HK.
AVestern Star Parlor, No. 28, Santa Rosa,
was instituted March the 13tli, 188-4, by Dis-
trict Deputy C. H. Decker, assisted by Grand
Vice-President John fV. Steinback, Grand
HISTORY OP SONOMA COUNTY.
81
Lecturer, M. A. Doni, Past President, Frank
•J. Iligj^ins, uikI actinii; (irand Secretary, li.
Luiistetlt. I'acilic, Callt'ornia and 15ear Flag
Parlurs were represented. President Harmon,
of tlie Historic Parlor, California No. 1, occupied
the chair during the initiatory ceremonies, siip-
})orted by CTrand Lecturer Dorn and Messrs.
Yale and Shannahan, of San Francisco, and
other Grand and Acting Grand otHcers. At
the close of the initiatory ceremonies the follow-
ing officers were installed: Past President, H.
L. Hranthaver; President, Geo. Honior Meyer;
First Vice President, W. F. Russell; Second
Vice President, L. W. Juilliard; Third Vice
President, R. A. Harris; Recording Secretary,
Emmet Seawell; Financial Secretary, George P.
Duncan; Ti'easurer, George Hood, Jr; Marshal,
Aubrey iiarham; Inside Sentinel, Alpheus Reed;
Outside Sentinel, E. B, Rohrer; Executive
Committee, Chas. M. Gstrum, J. McReynolds
and John W. Lambert. After the installation
there was an entertainment which passed most
pleasantly. Messrs. Steinback, Higgins, Deck-
er, Dorn and Lnnstedt, Hartuian, Meyer and
Jefferies, making timely and eloquent ad-
dresses.
P'ollowing is a complete list of the present
otHcers and members of Western Star Parlor
No. 28, in the order of their admission into the
parlor :
Ufticers — Geo. I). Duncan, P. P.; W. F. iius-
sell. P.; Don Mills, 1st V. P.; T. J. Hutchinson,
2d V. P.; John McMinn, Jr., 3d V. P.; J. H.
Adams, R. S.; L. W. Juilliard, F. S.; Geo.
Hood, Jr., Treasurer; F. (4. Gerichten, Marshal;
J. W. Irwin, I. S.: Chas. Underhill, O. S. ;
John Hood, W. 1!. Atterbury, H. L. Hranthaver,
Trustees.
Members — (ieo. H. Meyer, R. A. Harris, R.
A. Radger, J. A. Harham, J. M. McReynolds,
J. W. Lambert, II. Pariiey, W. M. Duncan,
John Creagh, W. H. ilanion, W. M. Irwin; G.
J. Rarnett, Emmet Seawell, J. W.Adams, J. F.
R. Cook, Douglas I>adger, W. A. Ford, C. H.
Holmes, Jr., J. S. Childers, F. R. McCutchin,
R. L. Adams, F. (i. (Jerichten, J. N. Norris, W.
S. I'. Coulter, C. V. Tupper, Dan P. Carter, H.
(t. IJahman, E. P. Colgan, M. F. Ilauck; J. S.
Ross, Julian Ilolman, R. D. Cannon, W. E.
Ilealey, L. W. Jiurris, W. R. Carithers, W. T.
Spridgeon; J. P. Overton, R. A. Long, Wm.
Wilkins, J. S. Titus, Jr., M. II. Durbin, F. S.
Lowell.
On Admission Day, September 1), 1885, the
National Sons of the Golden West had a grand
celebration at Santa Rosa. Every Parlor in the
State was represented. There were about 1,000
Native Sons in the procession, mariiiig time to
the inspiring music of nine brass bands. It was
a gala day long to be remembered. The liter-
ary e.\ercises were held at the Santa Rosa Athe-
naMim. J. II. McGee delivered the address of
welcome, and Governor Stonenian spoke of
pioneer times. The annual address was delivered
by Charles T. Weller. It was as follows:
His Excellency the Gocernor — Ladies and
(Jentlemen — Natice Sons of the Golden West:
Fifty years ago a lonely herdsman looking over
the (piet harbor of Yerba J>uena, watching the
waves as they lazily drifted up to the shore,
kissed the sand and then receded to the boson)
of their mother, Ocean, watching the priests as
they went about their ditferent tasks in the little
mission, whilst over all shone the rays of an
almost tropical sun, bathing the sand plains
with its radiant splendor and glorifying the
good fathers as they taught their little wards of
the life which was beyond.
To this watcher, statiding carelessly there in
the sunshine, no dream of the future sjilcudur
of that scene could come. Had you tolil him
of a time but a few years distant, when thou-
sands of men from all the nations of the earth
would crowd u)mn that sand, he would have
thought you mad, for what was there to cause
this human floods . Nothing but vast sandy
plains and the everlasting hills — mute monu-
ments of the Creator's power — presented them-
selves to the eye. Surely this was not a land
that would tempt a man to leave the fertile hills
and valleys of the East and l)rave all dangers to
reach its barren shores.
lIlsTonV (IF SdNOMA LUIUNTY.
Trnly, tlie priests had come. For a hundred
years their missions liad been planted on the
coast and they had endured privation, suffering,
yea, even deatli itself for the cause they held so
dear; but the world was used to this sight.
Where in ail the earth had the zeal oi" the holy
fathers not carried them? No journey was too
hard for them to attempt — ready at the word to
<ro unto the ends of the world. The pages of
h'story have rarely shown such perfect organiza-
tion. Never such implicit obedience as they
exhibited. «.\nd so the quiet life of the old
missions ran on one day so like another that the
riight of time was scarcely marked, save when
some old father, weary with the burden of his
years and the labor performed for the good of
his fellow-men, failed to appear at morning
prayers, and his brothers going to his cell would
find that he had been called to his reward.
I love to dwell on this phase of the old life
of our native State. It presents a picture so
quiet and restful that one living in the wild
rush of the present can hardly realize that it
is not all a dream. Amid the universal strife
for personal advancement so prevalent in our
day, we have but a dim light with which to dis-
cern the nobler humanity that led the fathers
of old to sacrifice their all for the good of their
fellows. "What though the recipient of their
life work was but an ignorant savage — lowest,
we are told, of the entire human race? Enough
for them to know that he had a soul to save.
The world's truest heroes are not always those
whose names are on every tongue, and to whom
monuments of marble pierce the sky. In many
a lowly grave in the old mission churchyard,
with naught save a simple cross to mark the
spot, lies, perhaps, a brave, true heart, who,
having sacrificed liimself without a murmur for
the welfare of his brethren, is more worthy of
praise than a Napoleon.
But we must away from the pleasant picture
of California life under the Padres. Suflice that
now it is forever dead, and whilst with reverent
hands we draw the curtain over that calm past,
we cannot fail to acknowledge what a noble
lesson to poor weak humanity the life and works
of the holy fathers have been.
The history of California before the discovery
of gold and settlement by Americans, resembles
that of the South American liepublics of to-day.
Ruled first by Spain and then b}' Ale.xico,
California in turn revolted from each three
times. The Mexican power was broken. In-
deed, in 1836, the successful Governor, Alvarado,
was aided by a Tennesseeaii named (xraham,
who evinced, at an early day in the history of
our State, the fondness Americans are said to
have for politics. Alvarado re|.iaid his debt of
gratitude to his friend by soon sending him,
with others, in chains to San Bias, only to see
them return in a few months much the better
for their exile.
California at this, as in former times, was
ever ready for a revolution. As a rule no one
w'as hurt, and it generally required only one
shot, as at the capture of Monterey by Alva-
rado, to establish the downfall of one governor
and the succession of another. And so the life
of the Californians went on, the population at
this time being less than 15,000, mostly engaged
in stock-raisincp. For the herds of cattle intro-
duced by Governor Portal and Father Junipero
Serra had increased to vast numbers and the
trade in hides had become quite extensive, the
Boston traders keeping two ships on the coast,
thus enabling the native Californians to indulge
their love of finery, which had hitherto been
repressed.
But a different race was now to appear upon
the scene, and henceforth revolutions were to be
something more than a name. Early in 18-16
Fremont arrived upon the frontiers of Califor-
nia, and, with his company of some sixty odd
men, halted about 100 miles from Monterey.
He then proceeded alone to that place to inter-
view the Mexican General Castro, asking of
him permission to proceed to the San Joaquin
Valley, that he might there rest and recuperate
his party, who were on their way to Oregon.
The request was freely granted, but no sooner
had Fremont departed than Castro began to stir
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
ii[> tlie Calit'urnians. Tlie c.\[)lorcrs were be-
bicjjed for some four days near Monterey, but tlie
Californians did not care to jiusli the iigliting,
!-o at the end of tliis time Fi'einont and liis men
took up tlieir route for Oregon. They were
soon recalled, however, for the time liad at last
arrived, vvlien California should come under the
protection of the stars and sti'ipes.
The (Tovernment at Washington had long
cast eager glances westward, and on the 2d day
of July, ISit), Commodore Sloat, on board tlie
frigate Savannah, entered the harbor of Monte-
rey. His position was a trying one, for if lie
did not take possession of the country in the
name of tlie United States, other powers might
interfere. At the time the Sarannah left Ma-
zatlan for Monterey, the English man-of-war
C'lilliiKjiriioi/ t-Ailtid from San Bias for the same
])ort.
It was indeed a race between the Uiiitetl
States and England on which perhaps depended
the future of California.
At this time Sloat did iKitknuw that war had
lieen declared between the United States and
Mexico, lie therefore hesitated to take a step
which must provoke hostilities.
Before this, indeed, the shock of war had
been felt here on your own soil, and the bear
flag had fluttered in the soft breezes of the
Sonoma hills.
This occasion, howexer, was ditl'erent; the
power of the United States was about to Ije
invoked and woe to those who dared its
might.
At last, on the 7th day of July, 181-f5, Com-
modore Sloat raised the American Hag and de-
clared California henceforth a part of the United
States, and on the lOtli of the same month the
stars and stripes reached Sonoma and were sub-
stituted for the l)ear tiag, under which our
fathers won their tirst victory. Much was still
to be done ere the (juestiou was entirely settUnl,
for Flores issued a prdclamation to the Califor-
nians and gathered together some three hundred
of them and made a last stand for independence.
This emeute was soon tpielled, however, and the
United States were in undisturbed possession of
Uj)per California.
In the spring ot 18-18 the treaty of peace.was
ratified between our country and Mexico, and
early in the following year came a great change
to California.
On the 19th day of January, 184:'J, James AV.
Marshall, standing by a stream among the
mountains of the present county of El Dorado,
saw something glittering before him in the
water. He gazes for a moment, then knows that
it is gold, sought after through all ages. The
secret is kept for a little time but soon gets
abroad, and flies on the wings of the wind to the
uttermost ends of the earth. Then commences
to break upon our coast that great tide of hu-
manity which flowing from all (piarters of the
globe passed through the golden gate on to the
golden shore.
Never in the world's history has such a sight
been presented as that which now broke upon
the vision of the ipiiet inhabitants of California.
The best and worst elements of the older civi-
lization were set down on the sandy shore of
the old mission Dolores, there to work out the
eternal law of the survival of the fittest.
The times were most auspicious for the
bringing together of the bravest inanhood in
this western world. The war with Mexico had
closed and thousands of young men with the
laurels of victory upon their brows and used to
a life of adventure, were more than willing to
risk their all in search of the hidden treasure
concealed in the mountain fastnesses of the New
El Dorado.
There never was, there never can be a i)raver,
truer race of men than those Argonauts, the
pioneers of California, bound together as they
were by no ordinary ties, far from home and
kindred, with no family fireside around which
to gather, with nothing to call forth the better
side of man's nature, engaged as each man was
in the wild search for gold, still their friendship
was heroic in its trust and faithful unto death.
And was it nut natural that it should be sn'.
These men lunl encountered peril and danger
ursroBY OF sonoma county.
side l)y side, liad kept guard at midnight on the
liarren phiins of Mexico and stood shoulder to
slioulder at the attack on Monterey. A thou-
sand times had they stood face to face with death
and never quailed. Cemented by such ties,
what wonder that there existed between these men
a trust we can only imagine. The name of the
pioneeis of California has ever been a synonym
for all that was l)ravest and truest in manhood.
At this time through all the broad land, from
the Atlantic to the Mississippi, and from the
Great Lakes to the Gulf, the cry was " West-
ward-hol" Old and young alike spurred on by
the hope of bettering their condition, left the
(piiet steady life they had known so long and set
forth with brave hearts for the new El Dorado.
The sturdy jS'^ew England lad leaving his old
home among the hills where he and his fathers
before him had scarcely been alile to make both
ends meet, went side by side with the college
graduate fresh from the hills of Harvard.
Whilst from the plantations of the South and
from the farms of the then West came a human
tide slowly forcing its way across the broad
plains and over the ocean with bnt one thought,
one dream, one aspiration — that of reaching
California. How sad it is to realize that so few
of all these countless thousands found the suc-
cess they hoped for on these shores.
I never cross the beautiful Bay of San Fran-
cisco with its bright waters reflecting the rosy
tints of the setting sun that my thoughts do not
turn to the olden days, and looking out through
the Golden Gate I can picture a gallant ship,
with all sails set, slowly coming into port. Her
sides are weather-stained with the hard usage
she has encountered in beating around the Horn,
and her passengers are more than weary with
their months' of continement. Yet the smile
of hope is on every face, for at last they are in
sight of the long sought land. Then the eager
wish to get ashore and into the mountains to
search for gold. After that I ah! who can tell
their fate! A few successful in their search,
but the great majority going on fi-oni one place
to another until at last they sink exhausted by
the wayside, and the wife and children afar off
in the little home on the rough New England
hillside wait in vain for a step which never
comes; for a voice that is silent forever; wait
until even hope dies away and they know that
their loved one is lost to them.
And this was the sad fate of very many who,
setting forth with the hope of procuring that
which would gladden the hearts of the loved
ones at home, found only a rough grave upon
the mountain side, and the sleep which knows
no waking.
With the vast influx to this coast of Ameri-
cans from all parts of the United States came a
desire to secure the admission of California iuto
the Union, but this was a favor more easily
asked for than obtained. At the very threshold
of Congress this ambition was met with that
old question which had caused so much bitter-
ness in the past and which was soon to bathe
all the land in blood. Slavery stood in the way.
It had long been the custom in order to main-
tain a political balance of power for Congress to
admit two States at the same time — one beluga
slave State, the other free; but this was impos-
sible at this time. No other State stood knock-
ing at the doors of the National Capitol, and the
question had to be squarely met.
Attempts to give a territorial form of govern-
ment to the new country acquired from Mexico
had failed, three bills having such an object had
been defeated in a previous session of Congress.
And in 1848, Senator Douglas, of Illinois, in-
troduced a bill admitting California into the
Union. The battle waged long and violent, all
the old passions were revived and sectional
spirit ran as high as during the time of the
Missouri Compromise or the Wilmot Proviso.
Mr. Douglas did all that man could do, but the
opposition was too strong, and after an all night
session, on Sunday morning, March 4, 184rU, at
7 o'clock, the Senate adjourned and California
was still left without a State government.
In the meantime the people of California had
not been idle. When it became known that
Congress had failed to grant any relief, General
History op soNo.ua coi/Nry
85
Riley called upon the people to elect delegates
to form a Constitution for the State. A conven-
tion met for this purpose on the third day of
Septeinhei-, 1849, at Montert'v, and was in ses-
sion some six weeks evolving the first Constitu-
tion of California. This was soon after ratified
by the people, and in December, 1849, the first
session of the Legislature met at San Jose.
The question of the admission of California
came before Congress again at its ne.\t session,
and the fight was renewed with the same bitter-
ness. Early in March her Senators and Repre-
sentatives were in Washington, asking for
admission to the councils of the nation.
All summer the question engaged the giant
minds in the Senate, and at times the issue
seemed most doubtfhl, but at last the friends of
the new State conquered, and on the 9th day of
Septemlier, 1850, President Fillmore signed the
bill admitting California into the Union.
To-day we are gathered together to celebrate
the thirty-fifth anniversary of our admission in-
to the sisterhood of States. Standing in this
presence, viewing all the grand accomplishments
of these few j'ears, it is almost impossible for
us to realize that it is jiot all a dream; for thirty-
five years is as nothing in the life of a country,
and what wonders has our fair State not seen?
Fiom a few missions scattered along the coast
have sprung a dozen cities, and the old Mission
Dolores has grown to lie the empire city of the
AVest, sitting secure upon her hills by the Gold-
en Gate, proud mistress of the Pacific. To her
has come trilmto fi'mn the Orient and through
her gateway gn Inrth ships whose sails whiten
every sea. ('(nild but the sjiirit of some old
father revisit the scenes where he had worked in
his little garden among the siind hills he would
indeed thiid< that tiie age of miracles had come
onee more.
Where thirty-five years ago were a few scattei-ed
ranches with herds of wild cattle running over
the vast plains are now thriving towns and
beautiful farms. In no other land has nature
been so lavish in her gifts to the children of
men. With us all climes seem to meet and
blend, and the hardy pine of the northern
woods whispers iieside the orange blossom of
the south.
We have often been ridiculed for boasting so
much of our climate. Vet 1 am sure we are fully
justified in the facts. Stretching as our State
does for hundreds of miles along the coast, with
its fine harl)ors, that of San Francisco one of
the best in the world, and with a land capable
of growing almost every product of the tem-
perate and torrid zones — the past is but an
earnest of what the future has in store for us.
Great as has been our progress during the past
thirty-five years, I look forward with a confi-
dent hope of yet grander achievements.
With all our vast resources scarcely un-
touched, with great mines of wealth yet un-
worked, thousands of acres of fertile soil
uncultivated, needing only the hand of man to
cause it to spring forth and to blossom like the
rose, we as a people are not faithful to the great
charge entrusted to us, if we are satisfied with
the glory of the past and content with the work
done by our fathers. It is our saci'ed duty to
go forward in the the patli laid out for iis by
the pioneers, building up the prosperity an<l
greatness of the grand heritage they have left
us. Our task is much easier than was theirs;
our lives have fallen in pleasant places; for
them the weary months of toil over barren
wastes and burning sands, the battle and the
siege; for us the pleasant groves and vineyards,
the arts and civilizatitni, and the security of the
law.
Shall we be less faithful, enjoying as we do
the fruits of their labor, than were they with
war and death on every sid(>; I am sure I can
answer for y<in, my brothers, when I say that you
will use every possilile means which you jiossess
to establish stronger the bulwarks of our beloved
State; that you will see to it that no act of
yours will ever stain the fair shield of ('alifor-
nia; that accepting from your fathers as a sacred
trust the honor of your State, yon will ever
strive to jierpetiiate its glory through ail the
future.
HISTiiRY OP SONOMA COUNTY.
The years that are crowding fast upon us are
full of responsiihilities. Whether we wish to
or not there are grave ijuestiuns which must be
met. Every day sees some old pioneer gathered
to his reward, and the vast majority of them
have already passed over the divide and rest on
the other sliore. Tlie future of our State for
weal or woe is in our hands, and there are prob-
lems to be solved wliicli will require all our
knowledge and courage.
Though we are proud, as onh' those can be
who live ujion their native soil, still there are
elements within our State which must be
checked if we desire to preserve untainted the
liberty and equality which we have inherited.
One of the great evils that lias grown up
within our State is the vast power exercised by
wealth. We are too prone in these latter days
to worship the possessor of monej', caring little
by what means it has been obtained. Let us
rather return to the piineiples nf unr fathers,
believing with tiiein that "an honest man is
the noblest work of God;" for I fear they had
a higlier standard by which to judge these
things, and I believe old ways are best.
With all our improvements in the past, with
school-houses and churches on every hand, 1 do
not know that we can boast of a higher tone of
personal honor than that which existed among
the rough and hardy pioneers who tirst landed
on these shores. Then every .man's word was his
bond, and to impugn a man'o truthfulness was
cause enough for war. Now, 1 fear, we mistrust
most men, and prone as the people are to be-
lieve the worst, they iind themselves too often
gratified. It is our duty to try and change
these things. Let us prove that the high traits
for which our fathers were justly praised, yet
live in us, that honesty, integrity and manliness
are not things of the past age, but exist now,
and by our liel|) will continue through all the
future.
On an occasion of this kind, wlien our
hearts are full of tender memories of the past,
and our minds turn again to the golden days of
boyhood, when life seemed all sunshine, and our
highest dreams and aspirations were so quickly
gratifie<l, ere we had learned the bitterness of
defeat or the hollowness of victory — before we
had drank of the cuj) of knowledge which
brings sorrow, who of us, turning again to the
sweet past, has failed to look for one form dearer
than all others, the pioneer mothers of our State.
Would that I had the eloquence with which to
pay a fitting tribute to their memory — coming
as they did across the desert plains and over
thousands of miles of ocean, leaving behind
them without a murmur all the comfort and re-
finements of civilization, content to take their
place beside the one tliey loved, and sufl'er all
for his sake. Tiieir life work lies before us in
the homes that are within our borders.
Oh, firesides, dotting mountain, valley and
plain, ye by your thousand voices bear testi-
mony of the noble work and worth of the truest
mothers of our State. A[ay God bless them to
their latest day.
Standing here to-day among the vine-clad
hills of Sonoma, on ground rendered historic
as being the place wliere the first blow was
struck by Americans having for its object the
Conquest of this fair land, almost in sight of
the spot where the famous bear fiag fiuttered in
the breezes of that summer day thirty-nine years
ago, we are more than impressed with the vast
evidences of jn'ogress tluit meet our view on
every hand. Where once the mountain and
hillside were covered by mighty forests inhab-
ited by savage beasts or still more savage men,
now we have the vine and the fruit tree, under
the siiadow of which dwell the happy and con-
tented liusbandman.
The old pioneer, his life work almost finished,
here rests and dreams of the stirring days of
yore, happy in the knowledge that through his
exertions this goodly heritage was secured and
that his children's children will rise up and call
him blessed.
To the noble pioneers, California owes a debt
of gratitude which can never be repaid. l'>y
their efforts has she been placed within a few
short years in a jiosition second to none in the
HISTORY OF SONOMA COtTNTY.
sister-liood of States. Situated as we are, upon
the utmost western border of the Republic, far
from the center of Federal authority, we have
not received the same amount of comfort and
assistance from the general government that our
sister States have enjoyed.
Yet our loyalt}' and love for our common
country has never wavered in the past nor will
it ever falter in the future. Each star in tlie
flag is dear to our hearts and we are content to
bide the time when we shall be better under-
stood. Standing at the gateway of the East,
with the manners, customs and civilization of an
alien race, old when our world was born, menac-
ing our homes and institutions, we have been
forced to bar the way to this servile flood, tiiat
we might protect our own flresides. To the
rest of the world California bids a most liearty
welcome. On our great fertile plains is room
for all, with enough of food to All the hungry of
other lands.
To those sitting in the darkness of a despot-
ism kejit alive by force in the old world, we
oft'er all the blessings which liberty ever brings
to its happy possessor.
Founded, as this State was by men of every
clime under heaven, we have absolutely no prej-
udices, judging all by their works and making
none responsible for the errors of his ancestors.
With these blessings on every hand and with
the vast resources of our soil, there is practically
no limit to our possibilities as a people. A
grand destiny awaits our State. May each of us
be prepared to act well his part with lionor to
himself and his fatherland.
To you, ]iioneer fathers, we turn this day
with hearts full of gratitude for the l)lessings
you by ydur valor have conferred upon us. To
those who having passed over the divide, look
down upon us from the heiglits of eternal bliss,
guide, we pray you, the destinj- of the State you
loved so well.
To others who are still with us, we wish all
of hapi)iness and peace. May their last days be
indeed tlieir best ones, and when the sun, for
them, shall for the last time shed liis brilliant
rays upon the land they lield so dear, may its
declining light guide them safely into the eter-
nal rest.
And now to thee. Oh, California, l)rightest
and purest star in all the galaxy to us, we, thy
children, do on this day renew our fealty to thee.
Loving thee as no other people can love thee,
springing from thy bosom and nurtured on thy
breast, we pledge our lives, our honors to the
pi'eservation of thy liberty in all its pristine
strength !
May he be greatest among us wlio does the
most for thee.
And through all the cycles of the ages, God
grant that thy fair shield shall shine far out
over the western waters in all its radiant splen-
dor.
At the close of this eloquent address, (ieorge
Homer Meyer, the gifted Sonoma County Jioet,
recited the following poem:
THE KAISIXO OF THE FT.AOS.
With the flag of all others we love and reveie.
And whose stars float above us to-day,
Let us blend the worn folds of the brave pioneer,
While we wreathe it with laurel and bay.
With the names of our father.s its colors entwine,
And no shadow its history mars,
And to-day do we hold it as fitting to shine,
By the side of the Stripes and the Stars.
Tho' all rugged and rude on that far-a-way morn
Was the banner they lifted in air,
Yet the deed marked the day when an Empire was
born,
For the voice of God's Freedom was there.
And the hands that decreed that that Freedont should
be,
Were as rude witli their labor-worn scars
As the ensign they raised — yet it flo.ated .la free,
As the flag of the Stripes and the Stars.
And then far to the south where the swift breezes jilay
O'er the wave-broken face of the tide.
O'er the crests of the seas with their wild locks ol
spray,
Lo ! two stately sea-warriors ride.
And a banner blood-red from one lofty mast flows.
With St. George's crossed, crimson-hued bars.
While aflame in the .sunlight another tliere glows—
The bright flag of the Stripes and the Stars.
But sweet tidings have come to the chiefs o'er the sens,
A dark glow as of joy lights theii eyes;
IIIsniRY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
Now like light is the canvas flung wide In the breeze,
For a race, with an Empire the prize.
And now strain every hallianl and bend every sail.
And this day prove the strength of your spars —
Sliall (he Cross and the Crown of proud England pre-
vail,
Or the flag of the Stripes and the Stars?
Bnt one springs to the front — like a shaft from the bow
Does she cleave thro' the billow3' spray,
And the foam in her track, like the pathway of snow.
O'er the wind driven sea marks her waj-.
The wild waves lash her siiles till her masts liend and
reel,
And her mighty frame trembles and jars.
Hut she rises erect on her iron shod keel.
And above Hoats the Stripes and the Stars.
And on, on ! ever on ! the wild sea rushes by,
While the Briton comes following fast —
And there, gleaming before them, the green valleys lie.
For the wild race is ending at last.
And now pause, ship of Britain, the contest is o'er,
Lower down your vain canvas and spars,
For there, rising in triumph above the green shore.
Floats the flag of the Stripes and the Stars.
And now speed the glad ti<lings away to the north.
Let it fly on the winds of the air;
To that camp in the hills let the knowledge go forth.
To the true hearts awaiting it there.
Let them lay their brave flag on the Altars of Fame,
No dishonor its radiance mars.
For unconqiiered it yields without shadow of shame,
To the flag of the Stripes and the Stars.
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
89
^^
|[if' l=flF='F='l='r=^ ^^r=Jr=]n
-^'^ite^:
Military and Political History.
CIIAPTEIl IX.
Sonoma under mit.itarv rule — General Hiley aitoints civil officers — a si-EfiMEN of how
JUSTICE WAS ADMINISTERED A CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION SoNOMa's FIRST ELECTION A
CONTESTED SEAT IX THE Si'ATE SeNATE CALIFORNIA ADMITTED INTO THE UxiON THE MA-
chixerv (if civil (idvkknment set in motion elections am) nl'mher of votes i'ollkd ix
Sonoma district — ueoin to agitate countv seat kejioval — a vote taken on the <jdes.
TioN IN 1854 — Santa Eosa declared the county seat — earlv court accommodations at
the new county seat AN ATTEMPT TO REMOVE THE COUNTY SEAT FROM SaNIA KosA A
FAILURE COUNTY BUILDINGS, ETC.
^S|S yet, Califoriiia was under military rule
.toI ^"'^ «iuite a garrison was maintained at
'■^^(^ Sonoma. It was tiie head center of the
northern frontier, and when the gold fields of
California began to attract immigration it be-
came a place of much business importance. As
a military post it was honored with the presence
of several otticers, who afterward achieved
national renown, notable among whom were
Joe Hooker, Phil Ivearney, afterward killed at
Antietam; Ceneral Stone, (Tcncral Stoneman,
afterward Governor of California; an<l J.ienten-
ant Derby, author of the Squibob Papers.
In 1849 (reneral Itiley was commandant on
the Pacific coast, and appears to have had the
power to appoint civil otticers; for in August of
that year he issued a commission to Stephen
Cooper as judge of the first district, and
appointed C. J*. Wilkins prefect of the district
of Sonoma. That the justice administered by
the officers so appointed was both grim and
swift is evidenced by tiie first record in Stephen
Cooper's court, which is as follows:
"The people of California Territory vs.
George Palmer — And now comes the said people
by right of their attorney, and the said defend-
ant by Seinple and O'AIelveny, and the prisoner
having been arraigned on the indictment
in this cause plead not guilty. Therefore a
jury was chosen, selected and sworn, when, after
hearing the evidence and arguments of couhspI,
returned into court the tbllowiiig verdict, to
wit:
"The jurymen in the case of Palmer, defend-
ant, and the State of California, plaintiff, have
found a verdict of guilty on both counts of the
indictment, and sentence him to receive the
following ])unishment, to wit:
"On Saturday, the 24th day of November, to
be conducted by the sheriff to some public
])lace, ;uid there receive on his bare back seven-
ty-live lashes, with such a weapon as'the sheriff
90
HISTORY (iF SnmiMA COUNT F.
may deem fit, on each count respectively, and
to be banished from tlie district of Sonoma
within twelve lionrs after whipping, under the
])enalty of receiving the same number of laslies
for each and every day he remains in the dis-
trict after the first whipping.
"(Signed) Ai.exaniikk Riddlk,
•' Foreman.
'•It is therefore ordered l>y the court, in ac-
cordance with the above verdict that tlie forego-
ing sentence be carried into etfect."
It may seem strange to the reader tiiat the
jury ]ia8sed sentence, hut they could, and in
case of grand larceny, a jury could pass sentence
of death; as they did, vide Tanner vs. the
people of the State of California, 2nd Col. Re-
ports.
As yet everything was in a chaotic fornuitive
state. The civil authority related back to mili-
tary authority. And yet the government seems
to have been efficient and conducive to good
order and justice. Tlie penalties imposed may
n(j\v seem severe and even cruel, but we must
remember that in taking up civilization where
Mexican occupancy ended and American occu-
pancy began perfection in either civil or crimi-
nal practice would not be expected. There had
to be a gradual shading up to a more advanced
stage of civilization. In due time this came
under the benign influence of American rule
and the administration of American law. The
whipping post as a punishment for petty crimes
and the gallows. as the punishment for grand
larceny marks the dividing line between Cali-
fornia as a conquered province of Mexico, and a
star in the galaxy of the States of the Union
of the United States of America. If at first her
justice was administered with a seemingly
vigorous hand, it must be remembered that the
civil and criminal authority related back to the
military that ruled with the sword, the keen
edge of which did not allow the gordian knots
of law to impede the ends of swift and summary
punishment for infractions of law. As seem-
ingly severe as this administration of justice
may seem to those of later days, it must liP
borne in mind that the influx to California of a
vast horde of gold-seekers, had precipitated upon
this coast a people cosmopolitan in a degree
never l)efore concentrated upon God's footstool;
and nothing short of the most Vigorous methods
of jurisprudence would meet the exigencies of
the times. The interregnum between military
and civil rule in California was a period fraught
with many dangers to the weal of California,
and it is a subject of congratulation that it was
tided over with so few mistakes and errors. I'ut
the military rule liad tilled its appointed office
and the people came under the dominion of
civil rule.
California was now under the peaceful folds
of the stars and stripes. On February 2, 184-8.
a treaty of peace and friendship was formulated
attTuadalupe Hidalgo; ratified by the President
of the United States on March IG, 18-48; ex-
changed at Queretaro, May 30, and was finally
promulgated on the 4th of July ot the same
year, by President Polk, and attested by Secre-
tary of State, James lUielianan. In June, 1849,
a proclamation was published calling an election
to be held on the 1st of August, to elect dele-
gates to a general convention to formulate a
State constitution, and for filling the offices of
judge of tlie superior court, prefects, sul)-
prefects, and first alcalda as judge of the first
instance, such appointments to be made by
General Riley after being voted for. The
Sonoma district elected as delegates to that con-
vention General Yallejo, Joel Walker, R.
Seniple and L. W. Boggs. The number of del-
egates was fixed at thirty-seven, and they were
to meet in convention at Monterey on the 1st
of September, 184!l.
The constitutional convention assembled at
Monterey at the appointed time and R. Semjde,
delegate from the Sonoma district, was chosen
chairman. The session lasted six weeks. It
seems to have been conducted with ability and
decorum. A seal of the State was adopted with
the motto " Eureka;'' a provision for the morals
and education of the people of the State was
made: the boundary (piestion between Califor-
BISTORT OF SONOMA COUNTY.
nia and Mexico deteniiined, and last, but not
least, slavery was forever proiiibited within the
boundary of the State.
The constitution so framed, was submitted to
the people for ratitication at an election held on
the 13th of November. At the same election
State officers were to lie elected. Tlie vote for
the constitution was 12,064 for, and eleven
against its adoption. For State officers there
were two tickets in the field, both called the
peoples' ticket. The first was: for Governor,
John A. Sutter; for Lieutenant-Governor, John
McDougall ; for Representatives in Congi'ess,
William E. Shannon, Peter Ilalsted. The
second was: Peter H. Burnett, for Governor;
for Lieutenant-Governer, John McDougall; for
Representatives in Congress, Edward Gilbert and
George W. Wright. The result of this election
was: Peter Burnett, (Governor; John McDougall,
Lieutenant-Governor; and Edward Gilbert and
George W. Wright sent to Congress. The total
vote polled by Sonoma district in this election
was 552 votes, of which 424 were for Jiurnett.
For the State Senate the contest was between
General M. G. Yallejo and Jonas Spect, a Meth-
odist clergyman, afterward a resident of Two
Rock Valley foi' many years. At first Jonas
Spect was given his seat on the claim that he
had received a majority of the votes cast at a
precinct somewhere in the district called " Lar-
kin's Rancho." But it seems that Spect had
reckoned without his host, for when authentic
returns came in from Larkin's Ranch it proved
that Yallejo had lieen elected by eighteen ma-
jority, and Spect had to vacate his seat in favor
of Vallejo. The duly elected Representatives to
the Assembly from the district of Sonoma was
J. E. Brackett and J. S. Bradford. On the 15th
of December, 1849, this, the first legislative
body convened un<ler American rule, assembled
at the Pueblo de San Jose, and the senate organ-
ized with Mr. Cambcrlin as president pro tern.,
and John Bidwell as temporary secretary. The
assembly organized with Mr. Walthall as chair-
man /*/v) fern., and Mr. Moorchead as clerk pro
tiHi. riio first session of the Legislature \ipon
which was devolved the task of setting in
motioTi the wheels of civil government had a
difficult and intricate task to perform. It dis-
charged its duties as well as could lie expected
considering the multiform and intricate ques-
tions pressed upon its considei'ation. At this
session Robert Hopkins was appointed district
judge of the district of which Sonoma County
was a part, and J. E. Brackett Major-General of
the second division of militia. Petaluma and
Scmoma Creeks were also declared navigalde
streams. Throughout the proceedings of this
first legislative body of California seems to
have been harmonious, except that there was
apparent some friction over the charactei- of
memorial to be sent to Congress asking for ad-
mission into the sisterhood of States. The bone
of contention was that clause of the constitution
prohibiting slavery. This led to much acri-
monious discussion and resulted in the rejection
of all the florid addresses intended as accom-
paniments to the constitution, to be submitted
to Congress for ratification.
The Legislature proceeded to divide the Ter-
ritory into counties. The act sub-dividing into
counties and establishing, seats of justice therein
was finally passed and confirmed on the 25th of
April, 1851, fixing the boundaries of Sonoma
County as follows:
" Beginning on the sea-coast, at the mouth
of Russian River, and following up the middle
of said river to its source in the range of moun-
tains called Moyaemas; thence in a direct line
to the northwestern corner of Napa County to
its termination in ('amero Mountains; thence
in a direct line to the nearest point of Camero
Creek; thence down said creek to its entrance
into Napa River; thence down the middle of
Napa River to its mouth, excluding the island
called Signor, or Mare Island; thence due south
to the north line of Contra Costa County; thence
down the middle of said bay to the corner of
Marin County; thence following the boundary
of IVIarin County to Petaluma Creek; thence up
said ciTfk, following the boundary of Afarin
Connt\ to the ocean, and thi'ee miles Therein;
insTiiRY oF soNoMA diVNTY.
thence in a northerly direction parallel with the
coast to a point opposite the mouth of Russian
River, and thence to said river, wliich was the
place of heginning." If we take a map and
follow the meanderings df this boundary we
will find it very dissimihir to the present boun-
daries of Sonoma Oounty. Sonoma was desig-
nare<l as the seat uf county government. Pro-
vision was made for a court consisting of a
county judge, to be assisted in his deliberations
by two justices of the peace, they to be cliosen
by their brother justices from out of the whole
number elected for the county. This court had
great latitude of jurisdiction, for, aside from
passing upon matters civil and criminal, it also
discharged, substantially, all the functions now
belonging to a county lioard of supervisors.
The regular terms of this court were to com-
mence on the second Monday of February,
April, June, August, October and December,
with quarterly sessions on the third Monday of
February, May, August and November of each
year.
On the lull of September, 1850, California
was admitted into the Union as a State. The
first regular State Legislature assembled at San
Jose on January 6, 1851. The Eleventh Sena-
torial District then embraced the counties of
Sonoma, S(dano, Napa, Marin, Colusa, Yolo,
and Trinity, and was represented in the Senate
by Martin E. Cook; while Sonoma, in conjunc-
tion with Marin, Napa and Solano counties was
represented in the Assembly by A. Stearns and
John A. Bradford.
There had l)een established a court of sessions
at Sonoma with A. A. Oreen as County Judge
and Charles Hudspeth and Refer Campbell as
Associates. Judge Green died in 1851, and W-
O. King was chosen to till his place. In Novem-
l)er of that year C. R. Wilkins was elected
County Judge, Israel I'rockman was sheriff
and Dr. John llendley was county clerk and
recorder.
In July of 1852 Refer Campbell and J. M.
Miller were associate justices on the bench
with Judyc Wilkins: ami on the 3il of October
they were superseded by A. C (iodwin and
Phil. R. Thompson. The first Board of Super-
visors for the county convened on July 5, 1852,
at Sonoma, and took charge of county affairs
not coming within tlie jurisdiction of the court
of sessions. The members were D. O. Shat-
tuck; William A. Hereford, of Santa Rosa Dis-
trict, and Leonard I'. Hansen and James Sing-
ley of Retalunm District. I). ( ). Shattuck was
made Chairman of the Board.
A* the Rresidential election, the fall of 1852,
E. W. McKinstry was elected District Judge of
this district, and J. M. Hudspeth, Senator, and
H. S. Ewingand James McKamy, assemblymen.
As an inspiration to the young men of Sonoma
County of the future, not to despise the humlde
vocations of life, we here mention that Joe
Hooker, the afterward celebrated "Fighting Joe
Hooker" of the civil war, was elected to and
filled the position of road-master in Sonoma
road district, in the year of grace, 185H.
In 1852 Sonoma County played so little of a
conspicuous figure in politics that we find no
record of its attitude on the great national ques-
tions of the day. It was then Whig and Dem-
ocrat, but we find notlnng to show iiow the vote
stood between Rierce and tiie hero of " Lundy's
Lane," but judging from tiie complexion of the
then population of Sonoma County, the vote
was in favor of Rierce.
In 1853 the Democratic convention which
met at Santa Rosa nominated Joe Hooker an<l
Lindsay Carson for the assembly, and a fuU
county ticket. The Settlers' convention met on
Aueust fith and nominated a full ticket, headed
by James N. Bennett and Judge Robert Hop-
kins for the assembly. It was a tie vote be-
tween Bennett and Hooker. On the second
election to decide this tie vote the removal of the
county seat from Sonoma to Santa Rosa became
a direct issue. Tiie election came off on Octo-
ber 9, and Bennett, who lived and was sponsor
for P.ennett Yalley, beat Hooker, a resident of
Sonoma, l)y thirteen majority. Lindsay Carson
having declined the election to tlie assembly a
new election was called to fill the vacancy on
HISTORT OP SONOMA GOdNTY.
93
the 23(1 uf December. Tlic candidates were W.
J], llagiuit;, James Siiii;;lcy and Joseph W. Bel-
den, and resulted in the election of AV. H.
llagans.
Ilitlierto we have had to grupe amid the im-
pertect and defaced written records of Sonoma
to rind the political history of the county. In
September, 1855, there was a State and county
election held. The AVhio- jiarty had subsitled
and the contest was a straight one on the State
ticket between the Democratic and Ameuican
parties. The candidates for Governor were
Rigler, Democratic, and Johnson, American.
In Sonoma County Rigler received 988 votes
and Johnson 892. In the county contest tlie
tickets were Democratic and Settler. The Set-
tler's ticket was elected from top to l^ottom. At
this election was submitted the proposition
"Prohibitory Liquor Law yes, and Prohibitory
Liquor Law no,'' and the vote stood, yes, 591;
and no, 676. The total vote polled in Sonoma
and Mendocino counties at this election was
1,896.
As stated aliuve, the contest in 1853, between
Joe Hooker and Bennett hinged upon the pro-
posed removal of the county seat from Sonoma
to Santa Rosa. This became a leading question
in the political issues of the county. To give
the reader a correct idea of the whole subject
we cannot better do so than by incorporating
here the whole history in connection with the
county seat removal as lelated by R. A. Thomp-
son in his excellent history of Santa Rosa Town-
ship. It is as follows:
" In the year of 1850, in the town of Sonoma,
the county occupied a building owned by II. A.
(Trreen, County Judge. The Court of Sessions
then transacted the i)usini;ss of the county, now
entrusted to the iJoard of Supervisors. The
(Jourt consisted of the County Judge and a
n\iinbcr of Associate Justices. At the time of
which I write the meinbers^of the court were
II. A. (4reen, County Judge, J*. Campbell and
Charles Hudspeth, associates. On the I8th of
March, 1850, H. A. Green presents iiis bill to
his own court for rent of building for court-
house, from the 20th of May to the 20th of
Septenil)er, 1850 — four months, at .S125 jicr
month — S500. The bill was allowed, and wa.s
the lirst transaction of any kind regai'ding a
court house.
"On the iS'h of February, 1850, the Court
made the rollowing oixlei', in the matter of pur-
chasing a court-house: 'The (-ourt having con-
sidered the expense accruing to the county
annually, foi' rent of a court-house and offices,
are of the opinion that it would be a saving to
the county to ])urchase a house already built,
and recommend the same to be taken into con-
sideration as soon as possible.
" At the next meeting, in March, Peter Camp-
bell and Charles Hudspeth were appointed by the
court to buy or erect a suitable building for a court-
house, jail, otKces, etc. At tlio following meet-
ing this order was rescinded, and John Cameron
and A. C. McDonald were appointed in their
stead. They reported at once, and recommended,
quite innocently, the purchase of Judge Green's
house, as, of course, was anticipated, for $5,500,
to be paid for in seven warrants, three for iJioOO
and four for $1,000 each, to bear 3 per cent,
interest per month until paid. The court ac-
cepted the report — generously, liowever, reduc-
ing the interest to 2^ per cent, per month.
Judge Green made a deed, and the county took
possession of the old ' casa. dc tidohe^ (juurters.
The interest ran up more than the rent, and was
never paid; nor was the principal until long
after the death of Mr. Green. The board of
supervisors succeeded the court of sessions, and
they considered it very (piestioiiable whether
there was any law whatever for the purchase,
and payment hung lire for a long time, but it
was eventually paid, as will be seen. The county
occupied this l)uilding until it left Sonoma.
" In March, 1854, the bill authorizing a vote
upon the question of removal of county seat
passed the Legislature. It was introduced on
the 18th of April, was approved on the 19th
and became a law. It was entitled • An act to
locate the county seat of Soimma." It jirovided
for three commissioners, who were luimed in the
94
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
liill: Charles Loper and Gilbert R. Brusli, of
Maiiii Cuiiiity, and James McNear, of Napa, to
locate anew the county seat of yonoma. Section
second provided that the commissioners should
locate the county seat ' a?; near the geograpiiical
center of tiie valley portion, or agricultural por-
tion of said county, as practicable, having due
regard to ail local advantages in the selection of
the site."
" The commissioners wer€ to notify the su-
pervisors of their selection, and the supervisors
were to certify the same to tlie county judge,
and the judge was directed to give notice to the
(qualified electors of the county to vote foi- or
against the new county seat at the following
general election, li' a majority voted for tiie
new county seat, the board were directed to re-
move the archives to Santa Rosa and provide
the requisite county buildings; if against the
new county seat, then it should remain in
Sonoma.
"The contest for removal actually Ijcgan a
year ijeforc in the race between Joe Hooker and
J. AV. Bennett for the Legislature. In Santa
Rosa Bennett received eighty-four votes to
Hooker's two. Tlu; (piestion of removal gave
him almost a solid vote, though- it was not
publicly mentioned, lie carrieil the county by
a majority of twenty-two votes.
•• The Sonoma Bulletin,, then edited by that
pioneer journalist, A. J. Cox, very warndy ad-
vocated Mr. Hooker's election, and up to this
date, in his admirably edited paper, had no
reference to the removal of the county seat,
though he must have thought about it.
'•The grand jury, on the 7th of February,
1854, condemned the old court-house — which
they called ' an old dilapidated adobe of small
dimensions, in part rootless and unlit for a cattle
shed.' They say it had cost !«9,0U(), of which
§3,000 had been paid and ^HOOO was still
claimed.
"Next week the Bulletin said, editorially:
• The old court-house is about being deserted,
and high time it should be, unless our worthy
officers of the law would run the risk of being
crushed beneath a mass of mud and shingles,
for we really believe it will cave in the next
heavy rain.'
"AVhen it was known in Sonoma that Mr.
Bei.nett's bill had been introduced, the Bulletin
of Api-il 8, 1854, under head of ' Removal of
County Seat,' said: 'Our representatives at Sac-
ramento, hitherto inert and dumb, have at
length bestirred themselves to action — some-
thing to save appearances at the close of the
session. This effort to do something, however,
reminds our citizens that they are represented
at the capital -a circumstance they had long
since forgotten. The first intimation we had of
the peoj)le' ft desire to remove the county seat
from Sononui to Santa Rosa was through the
legislative proceedings of March 28th, which
inform us that the bill ha<l been introduced and
passed for that purpose. From what source did
our representatives derive the information that
a change was demanded by our people? In the
name of a large body of their constituents we
protest against the measure as premature, un-
authorized and impolitic. The county cannot
even repair the miserable building, and theoidy
one it possesses; how then can it bear the ex-
pense of erecting new ones? Perhaps the
Sonoma delegation can perform a financial
miracle.'
"The session of the Legislature was drawing
to a close, and there was no time to compass the
defeat of the bill, hence the rather bitter tone
of the above editorial.
" In its issue of August 19th the Bulletin
said: 'The removal of the county seat claims a
large share of public interest. Will it be trans-
ferred from Sonoma to Santa Rosa? Of course
that can only be positively known when the
ballots for and against the new county seat arc
counted. J udging from what we call popular
opinion of the matter, Santa Rosa has but a
slim chance of success, although every one con-
siders it a pretty little town, and located in a
pretty spot.' Oue of the editor's arguments
against removal was that if the county should
be divided, Santa Rosa would l)e as extreme as
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
Sonoma now is, and, like our famous State capi-
tal, the county seat would have to ' roll its bones
elsewhere."
" The election took place on the tith of Sep-
tember, as advertised, and the vote stood as
t'oliows: for Santa Rosa, 716; for Sonoma, ot)8.
" On tiie 14th day of the same month the
editor of the BuUi'tin announces the vote as
follows: 'The county seat — that's a gone or
going case from Sonoma. The uji-country peo-
ple battled furiously against us, and have come
out victorious. B3' the way, the people of Santa
Rosa, after being satisfied of their success, tired
one hundred guns in honor of the event; that
is an anvil supplied the place of a cannon,
which was let oft" 100 times. A great country
this, whether fenced in or not.'
"The board of supervisors met in Sonoma on
the 18th day of September as a board of can-
vassers, and declared the above result. \i the
same meeting they agreed to convene in Santa
Rosa September 20th, for the purpose of pro-
viding the necessary buildings for the different
county officers, and for transacting any otlie
business pertaining to tlie new county seat.
"The district attorney was requested to ac-
company the boa d on September 20th. A.
Copeland,lI. G. Heald, R. E. Smith and Stephen
L. Fowder, constituting a majority of the board
of supervisors, met for the first time in Santa
Rosa. Supervisor R. E. Smith was chairman of
the Itoai'd.
"Julio Carrillo, V. G. llahman, Herthold
Iloen and W. P. Hartinaii appeared before the
board, they being proprietors of the town of
Santa Rosa, and agreed to furnish free of rent
three rooms in the house owned and occupied by
Julio Carrillo (now ex-Mayor James P. Clark's
residence), to be used by the sheriff', clerk and
treasurer until other buildings were provided.
They also agreed that by the 3d day of Novem-.
ber, 1854, they would have a court-house and
suitable rooms for county officers, said building
to be the property of the County of Sonoma for
one year gratis. A bond to carry out this
agreement was given.
"The board then clinched tlie removal, and
fixed the county seat in its new location by the
following order, which was placed upon the
minutes:
" ' It is hereby certified that at an election
held in the County of Sonoma on the fith day
of September, 1854, in pursuance of an act of
the Legislature entitled 'An act to locate the
county seat of Sonoma County anew,' the new
county seat received 716 votes, having a major-
ity of the votes cast at said election. Now,
therefore, know that the town of Santa Rosa is
hereby declared to be the county seat of Sonoma
County.'
" Supervisor Stephen E. Fowler offered the
following:
'•^ Ii'esidra/, l!y order of the lioaril of super-
visors of Sonoma County, that the archives v\'
said county be moved from the city of Sonoma
to the town of Santa Rosa, by order of the
board declared to be the county seat of Sonoma
County on September 22, 1854.'
"When the archives were finally taken the
irrepressibly witty Sonoma editor gets off the
following: Departed. — Last Friday the county
officei's with the archives left town for tiie new
capitol amidst the exulting grin of some, and
silent disapproval (frowning visages) of others.
We are only sorry they did not take the court-
house along — not because it would be an orna-
ment to Santa Rosa, but because its removal
would have embellished our plaza. Alasl old
^ caiid de ddohc.' No more do we see county
lawyers and loafers in general, lazily engaged in
the laudable effort of whittling asunder the
veranda-posts — which, by the way, recpiired but
little more to bring the whole fabric to the
ground. Xo more shall we hear within and
around it lengthy, logical political discussions,
upon which were supposed to hang the fate of
the world. The court-house is deserteil, like
some old feudal castle, only tenanted, perhaps,
by bats, rats and Heas. Li the classic language
of no one in particular, ' Let 'er rip.'
"At the first meeting of the lioard District
Attorney McNair put in a l>ill for $250, for
HISTORY OP SONOMA COUNTY.
iielt)ing the siijiervisors tu get legally out of
80110111a; he was allowed slUO. Tlie hoard
thought they did must of the work — at least
two-thirds of it. Jiin Williamson modestly put
in a hill of $10, for getting away with the
records, which was allowed, without a groan, as
it ought to have heen.
"The first said about a jail was December
13, 1855, when Supervisor Harrison, of Geyser-
ville, proposed to cast about for plans; the
matter was laid over.
•' The editor of the Bullitin. visited Santa
Rosa in October, a month after the removal,
and it is pleasant to know how it a])pears
to one so capable of estimating it. Mr. Cox
says: ' Our friends at Santa Rosa are displaying
considerable energy in building np the town.
We notice, among other evidences of enterprise,
the partial erection of a court-house. It is a
pretty building, and. though seemingly small to
those accustomed to the palatial four-story edi-
fices of Sonoma, is suthcieutly large for the pur-
pose. The citizens of the town certainly possess,
in an eminent degree, the great ingredients of
success, industry and enterprise.' This is a
handsome tribute to the early Santa Rosans.
" The next reference to the subject appears
November 30th, in which it is stated that
> .ludge McKinstry has decided the mandamus
to remove the county seat in favor of Santa
Rosa. Citizens, let the question repose."
"On Tuesday, October 2d, 1854, the Court
of Sessions, Judge Frank W. Shattuck presid-
ing, met for the first time, in the old Masonic
Hall, opposite the Santa Rosa House. Judge
I*. R. Thompson and James Prewett were
elected Associate Justices. If his Honor, the
presiding Judge, did not make a joke on the
novelty of the situation, then he was less witty
as a ' wise young Judge ' than he now^ is as the
editor of the Petaluma Courier.
" Iloen, Ilahinan and Carrillo, it will be re-
membered, had given bonds to the Board, that
they would have a building suitable for the pur-
poses of the county ready by the 3d day of
J^ovember. This building, which stood on the
ground now occupied by C. D. Frazee's drug
store, on Fourth street, near the corner of Meii-
\ docino, was rapidly pushed, and was finished in
December. The IJoard had to furnish it, and
the following funny order aj)pears upon the
minutes on the 12tli day of December, 1854:
•• ' It is ordered that the clerk be authorized to
receive sealed proposals for the construction of
twelve benches for the court-room, seven and
one-half feet long, and to be made of two-inch
stuff, and fourteen inches wide, with strong
backs to them, and the clerk be authorized to
I set up for sealed proposals, to be delivered on
the 26th inst.'
" Whether the clerk ' set up ' all night to
receive these proposals is not anywhere stated.
"This temporary court-house moved down
Fourth street in 1875, to make room for im-
provements. It was mounted on two trucks,
drawn by a big, six mule team. The mules
stuck with it, just oj^posite the recorder's ofKce,
on Fourth street, and it was pulled out by four
little, half-breed mustangs, belonging to James
Shaw\ of the Guilicos Valley, all of which is
facetiously related by the chroniclers of that
day.
"The clerk was, at this December meeting of
the Roard of Supervisors, authorized to receive
deeds from Julio Carrillo for lots 406 and 407,
upon which the court-house now stands. The
lots donated by Ilahman and Iloen were sold at
auction, and were purchased by Mr. Iloen, the
original owMier.
"On the 27th of Deceinljer II. V. MuUison
was ordered to make a plan of the jail by June
8th, 1855. The Board took no further steps in
the matter until that time, when they deter-
mined to build both court-house and jail. The
plan of D. II. Huston was adopted, for which he
was paid $150, and the lower story of the pres-
ent court-house, not including sheriff's office,
jail or Judge's chambers, was contracted for
with James M. Philips; the building was to be
set on the lots 406 and 407, deeded to the county
by Julio Carrillo.
"In iS'ovember, 1855. H. A. Green's execii-
HISTORY OP SONOMA (JOUNTY.
97
tors presented a bill for the old Sonuma two-
iind-a-l)alf-per-ceiit-a-inouth-adol)e, aiiiouiitiiig
to .<^10,843. The Board did not see it as the
executor did — they finally offered !t^3,250 to
settle the claim; it was accepted. The Hoard
offered the old seat of justice, ' Casa de Adobe,"
for sale, and it was purchased by the Sonoma
Lodge, I. C). U. F., No. 27, for their hall. The
erection of a one-story court-house and jail
was going on during the summer and tall of
1S55. A >pecial meeting of tlie l>oard was
calKil to receive it December 28, 1855. They
met, but would not receive the building, on the
ground that it was not built in accordance with
])lans and specilications. Uoth sides got mad.
The IJoard offered $7,000 to settle, which was
promptly refused. On the 8th of February,
1855, the F)oard went up to !B10,400, which was
accej)ted by the contractor, and the county took
possession of tlie premises. On the Gtli of
March Judge W. Clmrchman, J. A. lieynolds,
A. C. niedsoe and D. McDonald were appointed
a cumniittcc to furnish the building at an ex-
pense of .i;l,OOU. A. further appropriation of
!r^500, for tlie same purpose, was made. Total
cost of building, ^14,400; and furnishing,
!?1,500.
'• After this there was no more court-house
trouble for four years, when it broke out again,
the same old cry — more room; same trouble in
getting plans, and same coniplications in settling
with contractors was to follow, but all this was
in the, then, future. The proposition this time
was, as the saihjrs would say, to put an ' upper
deck" on the one-story court-house of 1855, and
attacli a jail and hospital as tender. It was
ordered to be done on the 12th of May, 1851*.
Uids were received on the 14th day of June,
185U. Tiie contract was let to Mr. i'hilips and
Joseph Nouges; Samuel West was ajjpointcd
sujicrintcndent; tiie contract price was .^^15,000.
The building was to be completed by Christmas;
that ))ortion over the jail was originally in-
tended for a iiospital. The work pi-ogresseil
iluring the summer of 1859. On the 19th of
November the Board made an order that, after-
ward put tliLMH to much trouble; it was as fol-
lows:
" 'That the superintendent of construction of
public buildings, Samuel AVest, be empowered
to make such changes in j)lan of jail and court-
house as in his judgment is necessary, having
in view the best interests of the county."
Under this order radical changes were made.
'•The Work was finished in January, 1800, and
a special meeting of the Hoard was calleil to re-
ceive the building and settle with contractors.
'•The contractors furnished the following bill :
Original lontiatt $1.5,000 00
Charges extra 25,891 3:J
By county lu-ilers received iJllT.OOO
Work not done I,8l:j-
.f40,S!ll -l-.i
18,813 00
liahince due uontrai-tors $22,078 33
" The Ijoard could not settle, and John I).
Grant, II. R. Leonard and Volney E. Howard
were selected to arbitrate. A large number of
witnesses were called, and finally the sum of
!r;6,000 was awarded to the contractors — making
$26,500 paid contractors in all. Cost of arbi-
tration, paid by county, $1,(501; salary of Super-
intendent West, $1,200. Total cost of building,
$29,601.30.
" The building was occupied in ISliO, and all
seemed well. lUit the Santa Kosans had hardly
got througli admiring the blindfolded statue of
Justice with equal scales, which surmounted the
new court-house, when they found they had
something to occupy them much nearer • terra
firnia."
'• The question of removing the county seat
always breaks out when there is any change
made in the court-house. The trouble with the
contractors and the expense of the improve-
ments brought on a violent attack of this sym-
pathetic disease. Hefore the Santa IJosans
knew it they were face to face with the same
issue they had formerly made witli the good
j)eople of the town of Sonoma.
"Hon. Henry Edgerton introtlucedabill in the
Legislature of 1861, in A])ril, providing that
tlie question of removing the county seat of
HISTUltY OF av^OMA U0U2iTY
Sonoma should be voted on at the next general
election. He put it through under whip and
spur, and the Santa Ilosans were put upon the
defense for their right to the new c-ourt-house,
after all their trouble in building it. They met
the issue fairly and squarely, and on the Ith
day of Septeniljer their title to the county seat
was again clinelied by a direct and decisive vote
of the people. If the Santa Kosans had been at
all alarmed, the .-e(|\iel to this agitation proved
that they had no occasion to be so, as the tabu-
lated vote upon the question will show: for re-
moval, 814; against removal, 1,632.
" For twenty years after this verdict there was
no further county seat agitation.
" In 1866 a new roof was put un the court-
house, and it was plastered on the outside, at a
total cost of $2,600. In 1867 the jail was re-
built and improvements were made at a cost of
.f8,'J99. Total cost of building, with furniture,
about $60,000. Tiie old structure was recently
sold for $26,000, which leaves the net cost of
the court-house to the t-ounty $34,000.
" The first district judge of Sonoma County
Avas Jiobert Hopkins. He was practicing law
in Sonoma in 184n. when the Legislature met
in San Jose. There was a movement on foot to
attach the Valley of Sonoma to Napa County.
The citizens of Sonoma sent the Hon. George
Pearce and Mi-. Hopkins as a committee to
countci-act this scheme. AVhen they got to San
Jose they found that the Legislature was about
to appoint a district judge for the district who
was a non-resident. Mr. I^earce proposed his
colleague Mr. Hopkins on the committee,
and had him appointed ti) the ottice. They
returned home, having accomplished their object
and also securing the appointment of district
"The Hon. E. W. McKinstry succeeded Mr.
Hopkins. He served a number of years, and is
now a distinguished member of the Supreme
Court of the State of California.
"Judge J. B. Southard succeeded Judge Mc-
Kinstry, and he was followed by Judge \V. C.
Wallace and Jackson Temple. The superior
judges succeeded under the new constitution
to the jurisdiction of the district judges."
Under the new organization of the court
Jackson Temple and John (r. Pj-essley occupied
the bench. Judge Temple having been elected
one of the Supreme Judges of the State, Thomas
Rutledge was appointed to fill the vacancy. At
the election of 1888 S. K. Donglierty was
elected to that position and now, with J. C
Pressley, discharges the duties of that court.
Lender the old county judge system we tind
that the following named gentlemen served in
that position in the order in which they are
named: II. A. Green, Charles P. AVilkins, J. E.
McNair, Frank Shattuck, P. R. Thompson,
"William Churman, C. AV. Langdon, A. P.
Overton and John G. Pressley.
Sonoma County had so increased in popula-
tion and wealth that all saw and admitted that
her county buildings were inadequate to the
county's need. .Vfter the usual amount of fric-
tion and sparring about location and cost of
court-house, the plaza of Santa Ilosa was selected
as the site and the cost of building was fixed
not to exceed $80,000. This was in 1883. Bids
for constructing the building were advertised
for, and the contract finally awarded to ]\[essrs.
Carle ct Croly, at $80,000, with the condition
that the building was to be cDinpleted by the
1st of Januar}', 1885. ( >n the 7th of May, 1884,
the corner-stone of this edifice was laid, with im^
posing ceremonies, and in due time reached com-
pletion. It is ornate in appearance, and a credit
to the people of Sonoma County. The building is
classic in design and built jarincipally of stone,
brick and iron. Its form approximates the
(xreek cross with projecting center (^and flanks),
having a dome. The building has four peudi-
ments, each surmounted by a figure of the God-
dess of Justice. The dome is topped with a
figure of Minerva. It will measure 107 by
115 feet, exclusive of porticoes, stairs and all
other projections; besides the basement and
dome, it is two full stories in height. Base-
ment 12 feet, first story 15 feet, court-rooms
in second story 22 feet, all other rooms in upper
■'^ijisci
lor\orr\a ^our\ty (^oupt J1o\j§q
L.ofC.
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNT F.
story lU feet, and comprises business and ju-
dicial apartments for the entire county govern-
ment. The approaches to the first story of the
building are granite staircases and !~teps 2i feet
in width; these land in porticoes laid in Mosaic.
Tiien cume the grand entrances into the corri-
.iurs li by 112 feet.
On the left are the clerk's otiices, one 21
feet 3 inches by 53 feet 8 inches; the other 20
I'cct 7 inches by '2U feet 8 inches, connected
t(.)getht'r by an archway; ne.\t the supervisors,
room 21 feet 3 inches by 38 feet, also connected
with clerk's room; on the right the recorder's
offices, 21 feet 3 inches by 73 feet 9 inches, and
20 feet 7 inches by 29 feet 3 inches; the Super-
intendent of public instruction's room, 18 feet
(i inches by 21 feet 3 inciies; the grand jury
room, 21 feet inciies by 21 feet 3 inches; stair-
case leading to court-rooms and offices above, and
also to the basement. In the upper story are two
Superior Court rooms, one 38 feet 4 inches by
59 feet 4 inches, and one 36 feet 8 inches by 54
feet, two judges' chambers 14 feet 10 inciies
by 20 feet 11 inches, two jury rooms 14 feet
10 inches by 20 feet 11 inches, each connected
with the court-rooms; district attorney's rooms
21 feet 7 inches by 27 feet 2 inches, and 15 feet
11 inches by 19 feet (> inches; hall and stairways
19 by 43 feet; janitor's rooms and stairway
leading to dome 15 feet 9 inches by 19 feet;
this staircase leads to attic, thence a spiral stair-
case to upper section of dome; the dome is 127
I'ect hitih from the grade line of Fourth street;
in the basement is the sheriff's rooms 21 feet 3
inches by 35 feet 5 inches, one 14 feet 6 inches
by 27 feet, and store room 19 by 21 feet 3
inches; treasurer's office 23 feet inches by 21
feet 3 inches, containing a fire and burglar proof
vault, 7 by 8 feet; surveyor's rooms 17 feet 2
inches by 21 feet 3 inciies, and 13 feet 6 inches
Uy 21 I'cct 3 inches; W. C. 21 hy 20 feet 7
inches; boiler room below, same size; the jail
38 by 58 feet 8 inches, with 12 iron cells 7 by
7 feet, and three 5 by 7 feet; said jail is lined
with plate iron. In the construction of this
[ edifice, it required eight hundred thousand
(800,000) brick, two hundred and forty (240)
tons of dressed granite; one hundred and thirty-
seven (137) tons of wrought iron, thirty (30)
tons of cast iron, three thousand nine hundred
and twenty-two (3.922) feet of corrugated iron —
besides lumber and other materials. The founda-
tions alone rei^uired eight huiidrcd and fifty (850)
. perch of basalt rock.
The county is subdivided into fourteen town-
ships as follows: .Vnaly, Bodega, Cloverdalc,
Knight's Valley, Mendocino, Ocean, I'etaluma,
Redwood, liussian lliver, Washington, Salt
Point, Santa Itosa, Sonoma and Vallejo. The
county government is managed by a Board of
Supervisors comprised of five members, each
representing a supervisorial district.
The county is at ])resent represented in the
Senate by E. C. Hinshaw; and in the Assembly
by J. AV. Ragsdale, Robert Howe, and Plielix
Mulgren.
The following are the present county officers:
J. (t. Pressley and S. K. Dougherty, Judges
Superior Court; George Hall, Court Reporter;
John Goss, Court Commissioner; Albert G.
Burnett, District Attorney; L. W. Juilliard,
County Clerk; W. F. Wines, Deputy Clerk;
W. S. Coulter, Deputy; E. P. Colgan, Sherifi';
J. D. Earnett, LTnder-Sheriff; M. V. Vaiidcr-
hoof and 11. Groshong, Deputies; P. N. Stofen,
Treasurer; A. P. Moore, Auditor and Recorder;
A. P. Mulligan, Deputy- Auditor and Recorder;
Mrs. F. McG. Martin, Sup't. Public Schools; W.
Longmore, Assessor; P. R. Davis, Surveyor;
J. Tivnen, Coronor and Public Administrator;
Benj. (ilark, (4. F. .Mien, M. K. Cady, G. V.
Davis, F. A. Smith, Board of Supervisors.
nusroJiV OF fONOMA VOVNTY.
CHAPTER X.
I'xHNDAKIKS <l|- S.iXdMA CoUXTV IIEK MolnIAIN |;AX(.I> — KnKE^TS AM) \ AI.I.HVf
fEOGIJAPHICALLY coiisidertMl, Snnoiua 1
County occupies onu uf tliu most favored
positions of any county in the State. Her
southern limb rests upon San Pabhj P)ay. tlie
connecting link between tlie Straits of ('ai-(|uine/.
and the ]>ay of San Francisco, lieaching in-
land there are two tidal streams, the Petal unia
Creek and Sonoma Creek, tlie former being nav-
igable to steam and sailing crafts a distance U|»
from the bay of twelve miles, and the latter a
distance of about seven miles. These arteries
of water transportation are of incalculal)le value
to the agriculturists and ihiii-vineu of the sur-
rounding country, insuring to them for all time
to Come cheap transportation of their |ii-oducts
to San Francisco, the great metropolis of the
Pacific coast, that is only distant from the south-
ern limits of the county about twenty miles.
Along these tidal streams are vast areas of
marsh land, much of which has already, and all
of which in time, will be reclaimed and brought
in subjection to profitable cultivation. The
meanderings of Petaluiua Creek northward from
San Pablo Hay to within four miles of Petaluma
is the boundary between Sonoma and Marin
counties, where the boundary line leaves tidal
salt water and follows the serpentine course of
the San Antonio Creek northward about nine
miles, to the Lagoona San Antonio (once a tule
marsh l>ut now drained and under cultivation),
anil thence in a direct line to the head of the
Kstero Americano, near Valley Ford, a tidal
stream, that tending westerly, debouches in the
Pacific Ocean aljout six miles ilistant from the
latter place. From this jwint to the mouth of
the (lualala River, a distance of about thirty
miles, Sonoma County has for her boundary the
broad Piicitic. The boundary between Sonoma
andMendocino counties commences at the month
of the (iualala River and following its meander-
ings about two miles to a point just above the
confluence of South Gualala, takes a straight
line easterly over the mountains, about twenty-
four miles to the summit of Redwood Mountain,
where, with a sliglit angle, but with a still
easterly deflection, the line continues on and
across the Russian River canon at a point four
miles northward from Cloverdale, and in a
straight line about twelve miles to the Lake
("ountv line on the summit of tiie Macuway
Mountains. From this point, and at almost
ricrht angles, the line of boundary between
Sonoma County and Lake and Napa counties it
rnus south in a straight line about forty-eight
miles to the intersection of the boundary line
between Napa and Solano counties; and from
HISTORY OF SONOMA GOUNTT.
103
thence the boundiuy between Sonoma and
Solano counties runs westerly, about six miles,
to San F'ablo Bay, the place of beginning.
It will tiius be seen that IVFarin County, with
a l)road l)ase resting on tlie bays of San b'ran-
ciscoand San Pablo, lays wedge-shaped l)etween
Sonoma C'ounty and the Pacific Ocean, its north-
ern and narrow end terminating at the Kstero
Americano, very near the middle of tiie western
boundary of Sonoma. According to Bower's
map of Sonoma County, which we believe to be
substantially correct, i*' is seventy miles in a
straight line from the extreme southerly point
of Sonoma County, on San Pablo Pa}-, to the
Mendocino County line at the mouth of the
(Inalala Piver, and its breadth gradually in-
creases from about twenty miles at Petaluma, to
about thirty-five miles, taking Cloverdale as
the base of a straight line across. The fore-
going is a correct statement of the present legal
geograjihical boundaries of Sonoma County.
Of course, like most newly organized communi-
ties, she had contests over (lis])uted territorial
jurisdiction, mention of which jiroperly belongs
to the general history, in the chronological
order in which they occurred.
Sonoma County has an area of 1,550 S([nare
miles, or about 992,000 acres, and ranks among
counties in tiie State in point of territorial scope
as seventh in magnitude. Within her borders
could be placed some of the principalities of
Europe, and even, at least, one of the older
States of the Union, would find her l)oundaries
a loose-fitting garment. A bird's-eye view of
her topograph}' will reveal the secret of that
wonderful progress and prosperity which has
placed her in the front raidv among the counties
of the State; for wliere in the wide worhl is
presented in the same scope of teri'itory so
varied and diversified a medley of soil, climate,
scenery, and exhibitions of handiwork from
Nature's laboratory as is to be found here?
As stated at the outset, the southern ex-
tremity of Sonoma County rests upon the
northern t^hore of San Pablo Pay. At this ex-
treme point a line drawn straight across from
the ]\[arin County to the Napa County line
would be about twelve miles in length, and
incist of the distan<'e would be across marsh
land, subject to overflow by spring tides. Radi-
ating from this focal point are two chains of
mountains'and one chain of hills. The Macuway
Mountains, that extending northward form the
boundary iietween Napa and Sonoma valleys,
inland about thirty miles reach their crowning
glory in Mt. St. Helena, in Napa County, with
aTi altitude of 4,343 feet above sea level, and
thence onward, forming the eastern background
to Santa Rosa and Russian Itiver valleys, hold-
ing in its embi-ace the far-famed Geyser Springs
of Sonoma County, where its greatest elevation
is Sulphur Peak, with an altitude of 3,470 feet.
The Sonoma Mountains take their rise near
San Pablo in the shape of smooth, grassy hills,
but with increasing ruggedness to the north-
ward, until at a point nearly east of, a!id about
seven miles distant from Petaluma, they reach
a height of 2,30(i feet. From that point they
gradually shade off to the lower levels and break
into a jumble of hills on the edge of the Santa
Rosa plains just south of Santa Rosa.
The range of hills referred to have no specific
geographical name. They commence near the
confluence of the San Anton and Petaluma
creeks and running northward form the divide
between the two valleys of like names. They
do not rise to the diginity of mountains, and to
the northward of Petaluma branching off in
different directions form tlie southern curb of
Two Rock Valley -the right wing ending in
the undulating hills that mark the boundary
between Petaluma and Santa Rosa ^' alleys and
the left skirting Tomales Valley, ^larin County,
until lost in the sand dunes around Tomales
Pay.
We have thus far bounded tiie valleys of the
lower section of the county, and limned the
rugged eastern back-ground to the Santa Posa
and Russian River valleys and now we ap-
l)roach the topography of a section of the
county most difficult to describe, and yet it is a
territory every part of wliich passed luuler our
tilBfORY OF SONoMa C'OUNTY.
vision more tiiaii thirty years ago. It is
bounded on the east by the Santa Rosa Valley,
on tlie north by Russian River, on the west by
the ocean and on the soutli by tlie Marin
County line, and the hills between Petaluma
and Two Rock Valley. Compassed in tliis dis-
trict are IJlucher Valley, Green Valley, Two
Rock Valley, Big Valley, and Bodega Valley,
and the following towns: Forestville, Sebasto-
pol, Stony Point, Bloomfield, Valley Ford,
Bodega, Freestone, and Occidental. Of these
valleys and towns more particular mention will
be made hereafter — it is the configuration of
the territory they occupy that is now lieing con-
sidered. That portion of this counti-y laying
north of a line drawn with Forestville as its
initial point, and taking in Sebastopol and Free-
stone on its course to i^odega. and from thence
in a direct line to the mouth of Russian River,
can properly be designated Redwood Mountains
— Russian River seeming to have carved them
out of the more rugged mountain forests be-
yond. "While these mountains do not tower
very high yet the Blumeand O'Ferrel redwoods
surmounting some of them, although about
twenty miles distant, with a hilly country be-
tween, can be ])lainly seen from Petnluma.
South of this line, commencing with the low
hills forming the Mcstern border of the Santa
Rosa A^alley, then swelling into hills of consid-
erable height, and again subsiding into more
gentle undulations, with an occasional subsid-
ence into an approach to valley level, they reach
away to the west, until in the narrow confines
between Bodega Jiay and the Estero Americano
they are met by the waves of the Pacific ocean.
With a length of over fifteen miles and an
average breadth of about six miles, this jumble
of hills and vales presents a newness of appear-
ance very suggestive of tender age, geologically
considered. Except that the northern end of
this territory had a fail- showing of oak timber,
the most of it was smooth hills, covered with
indigenous grasses, until the plow claimed them
i'ov the raising of cereals and potatoes.
The remaining topograiihy of the county, so
far as relates to hill and mountain profile, pre-
sents only two subdivisions. The first is that
chain, almost too rugged to be called bills, and
yet hardly of sufficiently pretentious altitude to
be designated mountains (although on Bower's
map two peaks are named), forming the divide
between Russian River and Dry (.'reek valleys.
Commencing in gradually increasing nndnhi-
tions at the confiuenee of Russian River and
Dry Creek, they extend back tt) a point just
north of the line between Sonoma and ilenilo-
cino counties, where they are chopped oft' by
Dry Creek plunging down through a gorge in
the hills. These hills jiresent a mixture of oak
timber, chaparral, and grazing land, with a
small showing of redwood timber along two or
three of the side streams just bMow Dry ("reek
canon.
There is now left the northwest corner of the
county, bounded on the east by Dry Creek Val-
ley, on the south by Russian River, on the west
by the ocean, and on the north by ^Mendocino
County. The territory embraced in this section
of the county lias a length, coastwise, of about
thirty miles, with an average breadth of about
sixteen miles. AVith the exception of a sea-side
mesa of breadth varying from one to two miles
and extending from Fort Ross up to the mouth
of theGualala River, this whole area is mountain
and forest, interspersed with occasional glades
that invite occupancy of such as prefer the soli-
tude of rugged wilds fur themselves and fiocks.
Here is an unliounded wealth of redwood foi-ests
and tanbark oak, with a possilile treasure of
hidden mineral wealth to be revealed in the
future; for already at Mount Jackson there is a
quicksilver mine being successfully antl profit-
ably worked. The grandeur of the scenery of
this vast stretch of country must be seen to be
appreciated; but, even to the great mass of
Sonoma County's own citizens it is a term incfx/-
ni.ta. We do not speak at random about the wild
grandeur of nature as exhibited in this field, for
nearly three decades ago we spent days and
weeks amid these scenes. Our impressions and
experiences were then given to the public in a
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
105
coininunication under caption of, "The Petalunia
Hunters," and will lie reproduced in another
cliapter of this work.
Having given the skeleton (intlines of the
iiills and mountains of Sonoma County, we now
turn to the valley's. Fetainma Valley com-
mences at San Pablo Bay and extends north-
ward fifteen miles and ends where low rolling
hills form the dividing line between it and
Santa Rosa \'alley. it lias an average breadth
of from three to five miles and is of inexhausti-
ble fertility. The mountains to the east and
the hills to the west are susceptible of cultiva-
tion high up on their sides, and their summits
are productive of indigenous gi-asses which fur-
nish a never failing supply of a range to those
engaged in dairying and stock-raising. The
valley land is productive of wheat, barley and
Iniy. The land immediately along the foot-
hills is of the very best ([uality for orchards and
vineyards.
Sonoma Valley has been so fully described in
connection with the early establishment there of
the mission "San l'"rancisco Solano," tliat it
requires little further description. It is a per-
fect gem of a valley, its foot resting upon tide-
water and extending inland ten or twelve miles.
It is the natural home of the \ine, the fig and
tlie orange. Xow that it is penetrated by two
railroads, its real worth and advantages will win
for it that consideration that its refd worth and
importance entitles it to.
Passing north the wide sweeji of Santa liosa
A'alley comes to view. This valley is a verit-
able paradise. Undeniably this is one of
the most lovely valleys in the State. Its
fertility and geographical position which secures
it against the harsh coast winds, and its j)erfect
adaptability for the ])roductiou of all kinds of
fruits marks it for a bright future of prosperity.
With an average breadth of six miles and a
length of eighteen miles it presents a wealth of
valley and scenic grandeur worth the crossing
of a continent to behoM.
I'assing beyond the Santa Rosa Valley north-
ward we come to the liussian Uiver Xalley.
This valley is considerable narrower than the
Santa Rosa Valley, but in richness of soil and
variableness of scenery, it is not surpassed by
any other valley in the State. From Ilealds-
burg to Cloverdale this valley is becoming one
continuous chain of vineyards and orchards.
Here it is that corn grows with a luxuriance
equal to that witnessed in the great IVfississijipi
Valley.
The Dry ('reek \'alley that unites with that
of the Russian River near Healdsburg, is of
equal fertility and has long been famous for its
products of small grain, corn, fruit and ho^js.
It reaches far nyi into the coast mountains, and
is a favorite place of resort for campers and
sportsmen.
Cloverdale is at the head of Russian River
Valley, but lieyond it in a pocket of the moun-
tains is Oat Valley, not large, but a gem both
in point of scenic surroundings and fertility of
soil.
I-Casterly frdui Healdsburg is Alexander \'al-
ley, a side cove to Russian River Valley. It is
a valley of considerable extend and great fertil-
ity. Mr. Alexander, after whom the valley was
named, was a pioneer settler, and in the early
fifties had a bearing orchard and other evideiu'es
of thrift and enterprise around him.
To the north and east of the Santa Rosa Val-
ley is a perfect nest of mountain valleys of
great productiveness. The (iuilicos Valley lays
serenely at the foot of Hood IVIountain, and
now that its solitude is broken by the whistle
of the Santa Rosa and Carquine/. trains pass-
ing through it, will soon become a famous sub-
urban resort. Rincon N^alley is a little nest in
the mountains three or four miles long by two
wide. Shut in as it is l)y surrounding moun-
tains it has a climate of unusual mildness and
is famous for the good (juality of grapes and
what that fruit produces. Dennett Valley is one
of the largest of the group of valleys, lying
easterly from Santa Rosa, its length being about
seven miles with aii average breadth of over two
miles. This valley is almost one continuous
viiK^yard. High ui) in the mountains is the
IOC
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
littlt' Alpine \'alley, mostly devoted to stock,
liiit with a few vineyards. Elliot Valley, so
named after the discoverer of the Geyser
Springs, on Porter Creek, a tributary of Mark
West Creek, is a small valley in which l>uth
farming and fruit raising is carried on.
Turning now to the west side of the county
there, are the following designated valleys:
(xreen Valley is an extremely rich and produc-
tive belt of country of about six miles in length
and two miles in breadth, lying in the red-
woods north of Sebastopol. _ This valley, on
account of its sheltered position, has always
been productive of tine fruit and berries. For
the growing of peaches and kindred fruit it is
unrivalled. This was one among the earliest
settled valleys in the county, and has always had
a thrifty and enterprising population.
Blucher Valley is located in the rolling iiills
between the Santa Eosa and Two Kock valleys.
It is a valley more in name than seeming for it
is difficult to say where the valley ends and the
undulations begin. It is land of great richness,
and for all standard varieties of fruit it can
hardly be excelled.
Next comes Two Eock A'" alley, so named on
acconnt of twin rocks at the northwest corner
of the ranch now owned by Mr. Kzekiel Den-
man. The Spaniards called it "Dos I'idros,"
and so the name continued down to 1854:-'5,
when it gradually took on the American name.
Two Rock. This valley is about three miles long
and two miles wide. The soil is rich alluvial-
and the valley has always lieen very productive
of potatoes and grain.
Big Valley occupies the basin forming tlie
head waters of the Estero Americano. The
valley and surrounding hills for miles around,
in the years gone by have produced untold
quantities of farm products. Being ccmtiguous
to Bodega where farming was first inaugurated.
Big Valley naturally invited early occupancy
and soon took front rank among farming dis-
tricts, 'and has maintained it to the end.
The next, and last valley to be noted is that
of the San Antonio. This is a narrow valley
at best, and that portion of it on the Sonoma
County side of the creek is extremely narrow.
But the head of the San Antonio widens out
and embraces several thousand acres of com-
paratively level land. Here used to be two
chain of lagoons; one at the head of the San
Antonio Creek and the other at the head of Sal-
mon Creek. But these lagoons have been
drained and now are used for cultivatinn.
We have thus given a birds-eye view of the
general topography of Sonoma County. We
tirst gave a skeleton of the mountain and hill
ranges and have designated and locateil the val-
leys. But it must be borne in mind thiit innch
of what lias been designated hills, and eviMi
portions classed as mountains, is susceptible of
cultivation, and the remainder is excellent stock
land.
ffTSTOnr OF SONOUfA COUNTY.
m
?>g(gg<rr.^t^.^t^^t^.'ft.^<^--^^^.-i>
AMERICAN OCCUPATION
M^riAPTErv XI.
Sonoma a central point avter the Bear Flag kevoli'tion — effect of disoovekv of the mixes
— WHO WERE settlers i.\ Sonoma County at the time — F. (t. Bli'meV statemicnt- how wild
AND UNIXHABITEI) TlIK I'Ol NTRY WAS Mr. LeIGh's lirXTINO EXPERIENCE NEAR riCrAHMA
FIRST SETTLERS IN AMI AROUNO PlOTALFMA BaCHELOR RANCHES THE LIVES AND HABITS OF THE
I'Eori.E WILD HOItSES, A\|i RECKLESS RIDERS THIC REATTA (I.ASSo) A COM!\IoX INSTRUMENT WITH
WHICH To CArTlRi; WILD lIoRSES AXD CATTLE THE VARIAIH.E EXl'EIUEXCES OF EARLY FARMERS
UIOSCRII'TIVIC OF THIS CorNl'i' AS IT WAS IN 1854 VsSESSOr's RFl'ORT I'OR 1855 THF I'lRST FAIR
ol' SciNoMA Corxiv.
|i,aK|;|ITII tlie lioistiiu
K Sonoma virtually
of the bear flag at
came Xo an end Span-
ish rule here. Althoiiu-h it was two years
later before California literally passed nnder
American rnle by tlie treaty of Guadalupe Hi-
dalgo, yet so far as the territory was concerned
Anierioan rule was comjilete ami irrevocable.
During the short interre_i,''iium that intervened
between the capture of Sonoma and the discov-
ery of the gold mines of California, the very
fact that Sonoma was the center f)f the revcilu-
tionary movement made it the head center of
American immigrants and adventurers. During
these adventurous and troublous times many
families from the outlying country naturally
sought Sonoma as a haven of security. This
inflation of its jwpulatioii gave to it, for the
time being, a marked prominence on tin-
northern tVontier. But the discovery of the
gold mines in 1848 turned tlie attention of
everybody mouiitainward. F(H' a lime Sonoma
was a sort of distributi\e ])oint from whence
snp])lies were drawn for gold-seekers, but soon
places more accessible to the mines sprung up.
and Sonoma relapsed into a quiet hamlet, yet
the county seat ot Sonoma ('onnty, but her
most enduring glory being that around her
clustered the memories of the flrst successful
revolt against l\[exican rnle.
It is interesting to note how manv and who
were the settlers in Sonoma County at the time
when it came under American jurisdiction.
General Vallejo as commandante of the north-
ern frontier had power to confer grants of land,
subject to conflrmation by the Governor of Cal-
ifornia. General Vallejo received this author-
ization in 1885. The first exercise of this
power seems to have been in the granting of
lands to Messrs. Mcintosh, Black and Dawson
in what is now r>odega Township. James
Black afterward disposed of his interest to his
partners and secured a grant in what is now
Marin County. Mcrntosh and Dawson became
naturalized citizens of Mexico, as they had to
do, ill order to get thcii- grant approved. To
Mcintosh was left the Inisiness of attending to
getting the proper papers' for the grant, and he
omitted to have his partner Dawson, maile a
108
ttlSTORT OF SONOMA COUNTY.
party tu tlie transaction. Tlii> led to tronble
and a dissolution of the tirin. Dawson set up
on his own account and received a grant for
what is now the Poglolome Grant. Dawson, on
tliis grant doubtless was the first, aside from
tlie Russians, to saw lumber in Sonoma County.
Ho established a saw-pit and with a whip-saw
sawed lumber enough to build a house.
In 184-0 Cyrus Alexander undertook the
management of the Sotoyome, or Fitch grant,
on Russian River. He agreed to manage the
ranch and cattle tliereon for a period of four
years at tlie end of wliich he was to receive
two leagues of land for liis services. He fulfilled
his contract and the two leagues of land placed
him in the front rank among Sonoma County's
substantial mrn.
( 'aptain Stepiien Smith visited this coast in
1839 or 1840. He seems to have been im-
pressed with tlie opportunities here for a grand
future for lie disposed of his cargo of liorns,
hides and tallow. Wiule on tliis coast he had
anclinrt'il in jiodega Uay and (loulitless fixed, at
tiiat time upon that locality for a future home.
Returning in ISlShe brought with him a boiler,
engine, and complete outfit for a steam saw and
grist mill, lie brought with him an assorted
cargo of merchandise. With him came Henry
Hegeler, a ship's carpenter, William A. Streeter,
an engineer, and David D. Dutton, a mill-
wright. Arrivinj; at San Francisco some time
in 184:3, he secured the additional services of
James Hudspeth, Alexander Copeland, Xathan-
iel Cooml.)s and .Fohn Daubinbiss (the three
former of wlKim reached prominence in subse-
quent California historyV Anchorage was
reached in iiodega i!ay sometime in September.
1843. Captain Smith encountered some ditb-
culty on his first arrival, as John tJidweli, then
Sutter's agent, claimed that the land around
Bodega belonged to Ca]>tain Sutter 1)y virtue of
purchase from the Hussiaiis.
In spite of these ju-otests, however. Captain
Smith stood his ground and maintained his
position. He immediately set about the con-
htrnctioii of his mill, destined to be the first
steain-niill of California. He selected as the
site a point at the very edge of the redwood
belt, about one mile easterly from the present
location of Bodega ('orners. There were three
boilers, each thirty-si.\ feet in length and two
and one-half feet in diameter. Tliese boilers
were set in masoni-y so that the fire passed
around them, instead of througli them, as boilers
are now constructed. The engine was of equally
primitive construction. The grinding burrs
were about fonr feet in diameter and eighteen
inches in thickness, and encircled with heavy
iron bands. The saw for cutting lumber was
what is known as a sash or molding saw, being
of up and down perpendicular motion. When
everything was in readiness to start up this
mill, a grand barliecne was prepared and peojile
near and far came to behold the wonder. That
it was accounted a momentous event is evi-
denced by the fact that Ceneral Vallejo rode all
the way from Sonoma to be present and partici-
pate in the inauguration of this new California
enterprise. Up to 1850 this mill did good ser-
vice, and eventually a circular saw took the
place of the muley. In 1855 the old mill
building was burned and all that now marks its
former site is the excavation in the bank where
it stood, and the well from wliich was pumjied
the water to feed its boilers. Captain Stephen
Smith seems to have been a man of sagacity
and great energy of character. Aside from his
mill, he established a tannery in after years,
which was in successful operation down to tiie
time of tlie captain's death. His grant, the
Bodega, contained 35,487 acres, and so long as
the captain lived he managed it with care and
intelligence, but after his death, which occurred
in November, 1855. the vast estate was soon
dissipated and wasted through the reckless
management of Tyler Curtis, who married the
widow, and it is doubtful if any of Captain
."Smith's children have much now to show of the
great wealth of their father. Here it is in place
to give the reminiscences of a gentleman who
settled at Freestone in the very earl }• days. His
statement covers much historic ground;
rtrfiTonr oP sonoma county.
'■K. G. JJluini' of I'"iveritone, oiiu of the early
pioneers of tliis State and county, i^ a (Tcrnian
by birth, ami was edneateil a;; a piiysieian. In
1S37 he accepted the jiosition of snri^eon on the
whale ship Alexander Itarclay, of Bremen,
whence he sailed for the whaling urotindsof the
North Pacific. After a successful cruise, his
ship dropped anchor in Saueelito harbor the 23d
of December, 1843, wdiere she remained some
time. l'"rom here Dr. ISlume went to the Sand-
wich Islands, and in 1847 returned to Califor-
nia, taking up his residence at Sonoma, where
for a time he practiced his profession. He
arrived soon after the hoisting of the bear flag,
.and some months before the discovery of gold.
He has a clear recollection of many of the his-
toric events of that early period, and being an
educated man and a close observer, a conversa-
tion with him upon matters relating to the early
history of this coast is highly interesting
While engaged in whalingabont Sitka, previous to
hisarrival in California, he and his shipmates had
frequentdealingsand interviews with the Russian
settlers of that region, whom he describes as the
most generous, kind-hearted and hospitable peo-
]ile he had ever met. Tiiere was a never-ending
rivalry among them as to who should treat the
stranger with the greatest kindness and hospi-
tality. A ball given by the linssian oflicials at
Sitka was a really grand affair. Then, as now,
the principal employments of the itdiabitants
was the producing of furs. He states that
Alaska contains immense bodies of timber land
which at a future time will become of great
value for ship-lmilding and other ]iurposes.
•'When the first gold dust was brought to So-
noma there was much doubt as to its genuineness.
Governor Hoggs and the military officers ])ro-
nounced it gold, and their opinion was acceiitcd
as connect. In a short time miners began to
arrive with large (juantities of dust, and it be-
came almost a drug in the market, 'i'hcre was
but little coin in the country, and Coopei' iV
lieasley, hotel keepers, bought large quantities
of dust at from four tn five dollars jier ounce.
Change smaller than one dollar w.is especiallv
scarce, and a blacksmith named Fling was often
employed for hours in cutting JNIe.xican dollars
into halves and (piarters. (Gambling was carried
on on a large scale by a considerable portion of
the inhabitants and visitors. Company D,
United States Volunteers, Captain Brackett, was
stationed at Sonoma, and Lieutenant, now (Jen-
eral George Stoneman, was there.
" Deer, bear, antelope, elk, and smaller game
were abundant hereabouts and very tame. On
more than one occasion Dr. Illume has driven
cattle and elk into a corral together on the
Tetalnma Ranch. In 1847 ammunition was
'contraband,' and it was with much difficulty
that it could be procured. Twenty-five cents
was paid for gun caps, and but few would be
obtained at that or any other price. In the sum-
mer and fall the valleys and hillsides were
covered with wild oats from four to eight feet
in height, and ownership of lands which are
now among the most valuable in the State could
be secured for a mere trifle. There was not a
house in Petaluma Townshij), and the only
building between Sonoma and Freestone was
the old adobe, near this city.
"We have given l)ut an outline of a few of
the many interesting events relating to the
early history of the coast that came within the
personal knowledge and exi)erience of this old
pioneer.
"In 1848 Dr. Illume removed from Sonoma
to Freestone, where he has since resided. He
has been several times elected justice of the
peace 'of llodega Township and is now servino-
as postmaster of Freestone."
Joseph O'Farrel having e.xchanged a ranch in
iEarin County for the Canada de Joniva in
.\naly 'i'ownshi]i, and accpiired by purchase
from Melntosh the grant, in IJodega Township
known as the Estero Americano, he established
liis residence in a beautiful valley in the red-
woods, wliere he was living in good style with
all the comforts and conveniences of modern
life around him, when American population be-
gan to come in. The Corrillio families, both at
Santa Rosa and Sebastopol, had erected adobe
inSTORT OF SONOMA COUNT i'.
liouses and were surrouiidecl with other evidences
of permanent residences. Mark West, occnpy-
ing a grant on the creek that still bears his
name, had erected a large adobe dwelling — so
likewise had Henry F). Fitch on his Sotoyome
grant on IJnssian River. Excepting the large
adolje establishment of General ^'allejo, in
\'allejo Township, near Petalnnia, the places
above enumerated were about the only ones that
could be called permanently established for any
period ante-dating 1850. At all these ranches
there was quite a showing of cattle and horses.
Ihit taken as a whole, tiie present County of
Sonoma was an uninhabited wild in 1850, save
and except the small valley of Sonoma. N. X.
Hedges, yet a resident of Petaluma, and who,
in company with Stephen Fowler (long de-
ceased), liuilt a house for Captain Sniith at
liodega. says that at that time there was not a
panel of fence on tlie trail between Petaluma
and liodega except a corral in l>ig \' alley. As
cioseas was Petaluma t<i San Francisco its neigh-
boriiood did not lioast a resident until in 1850.
'Die tirst to come was Dr. August Heyer-
manu, in the early part of that year, lie reared
a log cabin on the old A. ^\ . Rogers place, just
south of Petaluma. Late that fall Tom Lock-
wood, accompanied by a party of hunting com-
panions, came up Petaluma Creek in a whale
lioat and spent two months in camp near the
head of Petaluma Creek. They were joined
earlv in January of 1851 by Lemarcns Wiatt
and John JJns. The company now consisted
of Tom Lockwood, Lemarcns Wiatt, John Lins,
Levi Pybui-n and a man named Pendleton.
Their numl)er was afterward increased by the
arrival of Tiiomas liayliss and David Flogdell,
and all for a time continued to hunt game for
the San Francisco market.
Knowing that J. AV. Leigh, long the editor
of the Monterey Deiiiorraf and now receiver of
public moneys in the San Fi-ancisco land office,
had spent several months of 1850 in company
with other hunters, in the immediate vicinity
of Petaluma. at cair I'eqnest he reduced his re-
miniscences of the same to writini;-. Mi-. Leiii'h
and his companions camped near the head of
Petaluma Creek, probably somewhere between
the present residence of Joseph Gossage and the
Haines chicken ranch. It will be interesting to
future generations to know the exact conditions
around where a populous city now stands in the
middle of the nineteenth century:
" Referring to your request as to my reminis-
cences of your county, I hardly know how to
shape them in such position as to be interesting
to the ordinary reader. Really, there is little to
say except the mention of the extraordinary
wealth of game that then existed in the country
— elk b}' the hundred, antelopes on the plains
like Hocks of sheep, deer ill the woodlands so
numerous that at every clump of bushes a buck
seemed hidden, jumping out as we passed like
jack rabbits in the Fresno country now. My
I'ecollections of the face of the country is that
it wore a smiling and peaceful aspect, suggest-
ing nothing of a wilderness, but looking rather
like an Fhiglish park or the prairies of Iowa.
Coyotes and wildcats abounded, and the wood-
lands concealed lions and grizzlies as numerous,
relatively, as the ipnidruDeds they preyed upon.
So, too, there was no end of carrion crows,
ravens, turkey-buzzards and vultures, the last
named of huge size, rivaled only by the condors
of South America, all of which seemed to re-
gard ns as cateiers to their voracity, for they
came to know the significance of the ritle, and
flocked constantly after its report to eat what
we threw away of the cjame killed by us, hardly
waiting until we had taken our share, which
was the haunches only. It was strange, while
we were doing the murderous work alluded to,
how calm and peaceful the landscape looked,
with its copses of woodland, grassy open-
ings and wide plain, on which herds of elk
and bands of antelope fed apparently ignorant
of the death-dealing quality of man — a new
species of the carnivora who had come into their
haunts. My observation was that their eyes in-
formed them nothing of men. When to lee-
ward of them they manifested curiosity, and
mano'vering to approach ns, trusted to their
niSTORT OF SONOMA COUNTY.
Ill
organs of smell to make lis out. They would
come ()uite close, or let us get near, but showed
littlf of distrust until thoy got scent of us,
when they would be off like a Hash, panie-
stricken. From this performance 1 made out
that man is like the lion, tiger and similar
beasts of pi'ey. anil that liis body gives out an
odor which offends the senses of his foui'-footed
victims as would the scent of blood. We did
not kill 'for the lust of killing;" profit was
the object of the hunters witli whom I was, and
they killed only the ' bucks,' carefully select-
ing such as were in their prime. This was in
September, ISot). In all the country through
which we ranged -from the site of the present
Petaluina to what is now the town of Santa
Rosa, there was sign of but a single ' settle-
ment," of some S(iHatter, mIio had fenced a few
acres, plowed and sowed them to corn, potatoes
and melons, and had gone off to the mines and
left crows and raccoons to reap the product of
his labors. My companions were but two, men
who liad been trappers in the ' Rockies,' one
from the shores of Chesapeake originally, and
the other having been burn on the banks of the
Cumberland River, in Tennessee. They had
the skill of Cooper's ' Leather Stockim/," were
tiioroughly versed in wood lore and knew the
habits of their game as if 'to the manner born,"
but were rough and uncouth in speech and
morals to a degree that amazed me. I had a
tierce quarrel with one of them, I rememljer, to
the point of a duel a Voutt'ciiyie, but patched up
a truce with the understanding that neither
knew what kind of a man the other was and so
might give offense without meaning it."
Such being the conditions around the head
waters of I'etaUima Creek, at that time, and in
fair view of the Vallejo buildings at the foot
of the Sonoma Mountains, the reader can well
understand how game must have abounded
further back, where seldom disturbed by the
presence of man.
I5ut this was to be changed in thi' near
future. Those who came to hunt, determined
to locate here. Wiatt and Linus started a little
trading post on the creek near the present "Wash-
ington street; I'ayliss and Flogdell establislied
a boarding house; J. M. Hudspeth erected a
warehouse near the creek, and thus was started
the city of Retaluma. There had been quite a
number of new arrivals, and one among the
\ery cai'liest of these was Major James Siiudey,
who is yet one of Petaluma"s mi>st respected
citizens. Among those of that eai-ly period
whose names are at our command are (-ieorge \\.
Williams, Robert Douglas and family; the
Starkeys, the Tustins, the Lewises. The Mer-
ritts had located temjiorarily in (ireen Valley,
and John Merritt informs us that he ])iit ut)
the first stack of hay ever seen at Retaluma i.in
the site now occupied by the ^[cCune JJlock,
corner of Washington and Main streets. It is
useless to attempt to particularize on individu-
ality further. People were coming into the
county in constantly increasing volume, and
very many were intent upon securing liomes in
the country. Hut where to find unclaimed lands
was the rub. Go where they woidd they found
the land i-esting under the shadow of some
Spanish grant. In sheer desperation many set-
tled on grants and ])re|)ared to build their
homes, and leave the consequences to the
future. The settlements thus formed were dif-
ferent in character from those ever before wit-
nessed in frontier settlements. It was largely
made up of those who had tried their fortunes
in the mines and becoming discouraged with
the vocation of gold-seekers, determined to turn
their attention either to farming; or the raising
of stock. As a rule they were unmari-ied men,
although among them were a few men wliu had
families in the East. Hence it was that up to
as late as ISoo a large proportion of the habi-
tations in Sonoma (.'ounty were designated as
" I'achelor ranchos."" The buildings, con-
structed in many instances, as already stated, on
land covered by some Spanish grant, were very
rude habitations. The most common structures
were built by setting posts in the ground. The
weatherboarding was of boards split out of red-
wood, usually twelve feet long, and the roof of
Hf^TdUT f)F soyo.WA COUNT T.
■ •lapboanls (sliakt^i tVnir <ir live I't'ct long. Usu-
ally the grouiul was used for a floor, aitliotigli
some indulged in the luxury of a plank floor,
iiedsteads and bunks, such as could be con-
structed with iiandsaw and hatciiet, was the
furniture of the sleeping apartment, while a few
shelves in the kitchen made of split boards usu-
ally 6ufficed for a dish cupboard. AVitli the
addition of a cook-stove the establishment was
complete. Commencing with 1S51, these rude
tenements sprung uj) like mushrooms, and
inside of a few yeai's, throughout the length
and breadth of the county, were scattered these
bachelor domicils. In those years the man
who did not do his own cooking and washing
was an exception to the general rule. It was
not a (question of choice, but of necessity.
Neither did educatitin, pride or previous con-
dition cut any figure in the case. Here were
to be found men of every walk and grade of
life working side by side, whether in field or
kitchen. Society was democratic, simple and
pure, in a degree never before witnessed in any
country, and, perhaps, never to be repeated
again. It was a rough and rugged experience,
and yet it was just under such conditions that
very many of Sonoma County's preseiit most
substantial and respected citizens laid the founda-
tion of their fortunes. It must not be supposed
that even in those early years women and families
were unknown in Sonoma County; but they
were scj few in comparison to those who had
bachelor ranches that they were the exception
and not the rule. In the slow process of years,
however, those cheerless homes of lienedicts
gave ])lace to the more attractive and refining
inllnence of the mothers of the native sons and
daughters in Sonoma County. Many of these
noble women, who by their presence and toil
hel])cd to guide and cheer those engaged in
pioneer work, have ended their weary life-mis-
sion, but they richly eai'ned the right to have
monuments of enduring marble erected to their
memories.
We are describing conditions as they existed
between 1848 and 1855. If the reader knows
the meaning of the stock ])lirase "breeding
back," lie will rightly appreciate the real condi-
tions of Sonoma County at that time. Most of
the men who took up ranches and entered upon
agricultural or stock-raising pursuits were be-
low the meridian of life, and easily adapted
t htmselves to the conditions with which they
found themselves environed. There was a cer-
tain degree of dash and daring among the native
Californiaus very captivating to the young
Americans. .\.s expert riders and manipulators
of the reatta the natives excelled. In almost
every valley thei'e was ii baud (manada) of
Spanish animals and from these sources the set-
tlers di'ew a cheap supply of riding and work
animals, although ox-teams were then largely
used. To break and handle these California
horses led to the adoption of California hal)its
and methods. Hence the " bucharo "' saddle
was in almost universal use, and Americans be-
came enamored with the use of huge Mexican
spurs, that, in the language of Chaucer, "sounded
'een as loud as doth the chapel bell." In those
days if a rider, either Califoruian or American,
was approaching you, his coming was heralded
by the ringing of his spurs. Everybody rode
as if they were going for a doctor. The native
horses had a power of endurance that would put
to shame the nerve of candled and groomed
horses of a later period. If engaged in the
stock or dairying business, every man became
in a degree a " bucharo" — that is he was in the
saddle a great part of the time, and if he wished
to catch a wild horse or cow, his ever-ready
"reatta" was brought into requisition. The
Americans soon acfjuired a wonderful dexterity
in the throwing of the reatta. If a new saddle
horse was needed the manada was driven into a
corral and an animal selected, " lassed,"' blind-
folded, saddled and mounted, and then fun
began! The animal, if high metaled, of course
bucked, and the rider received commendation
from the spectators just in degree as he main-
tained his position in the saddle. In those
early days we have seen men I'ide such " buck-
ius: " mustang's for the mere editication of the
lUsrORT OP SONOMA COUNTY.
113
si>ectiitui-s. AVlieii we see young men of this
day riding on the little American saddle, with
their tooth-pick shoes crowded into little iron
stirrups, and rising in tlieir sitting so that you
could sine a hat between thcni and their saddle,
we just smile wiien we think of what would be
their fate if riding a bucking horse why, there
would not be enough of them left to make shoe-
strings. In the short space of a third of a
century the art of horse-back riding has virtu-
ally become a lost art in California.
The drift of early settlement in Sonoma
County was naturally toward Bodega because,
not only the Russians had demonstrated its fit-
ness for agriculture, but Captain Stephen Smith
had established himself there and was in a posi-
tion to assist immigrants in their venture in
agricultural pursuits. It was a demonstrated
fact that that region would produce in great
abundance potatoes, much needed in the mines
of California. Seed potatoes were very high.
Captain Smith was in a position to furnish this,
and found many ready to rent land and embark
in the business of potato growing. In 1851
such reaj)ed a rich reward. In 1852 seed pota-
toes were available for others, and settlers in
Big Valley and the coast hills embarked in the
business, and with large profits. This led to
the planting of an increased acreage of potatoes
in 1853, and the result was an over-production,
and conse(_[uent disaster to those engaged in the
business. In 185-1 the potato crop was again
in excess of the demand, and those who had en-
gaged in the business of potato raising were
virtually bankrupted. And, as if in veritication
of the adage, " misfortunes never come alone,"
the wheat crop of the coast valley's for 1854: -'55
were smitten with both smut and rust. ^Vlien
we hear farmers of the present day growling
about short crops, or low prices, our memory
naturally reverts to those three years of unre-
(piiteil toil of our farmcns', and we wonder as to
what would be about the lengtli of Sonoma
County farmers' faces now if they had to pass
through similar experiences.
The.se early farmers of Sonoma County had
settled upon the naked land. In many instances
they first planted their crops, then turned their
attention to building fences. If they had some
means, they could buy slats and posts in the
redwoods. If they had no money, as many of
them had not, it involved the riving of slats and
the splitting of posts themselves, and then the
hauling and constructing of the same into fences.
The toil involved was immense, and none but
those who passed through those experiences will
ever know wdiat of deprivation and physical
eft'ort it cost to found the early settlements of
Sonoma County.
As this chapter is mainly intended to give
the reader a correct conception of the Ilcwne^s
and comparatively uninhabited condition of
Sonoma County in the early fifties we give
place here to a communication written by us in
1877, reminiscent of the then long past:
"Eds. AK(iUs: Noticing that you are about
to lay upon the shelf your twenty-second volume
it naturally causes my mind to drift back to that
long-ago, verging close upon a (piarter of a
century, the occasion of my advent into your
county. .Vs these memories ante-date the birth
of your journal, they may not be devoid of in-
terest to some of your readers. In brief, the
spring of 1851 found me in San Francisco,
waiting, like Micawber, 'for something to turn
up.' That something did turn up just in the
nick of time, and was nothing more or less than
the discoveiy of rich gold mines on Russian
River.
" Over three years experience in the Sierras hail
failed to eliminate from my nature that credu-
lity which kept so many miners following every
l(jii'iK fatuun bearing the title of ' new gold
mines.' .\t the time of whieh I write there
were three steamboats plying between San
Francisco and Petalunni. The Scrrefar;/ and a
boat the name of which has passed from my
mind, were running a spirited oj>pobition. 'i'lu:
Reindeer, of which your fellow-townsman, E.
Latapie, was captain, was running free and easy,
on its own hook; making up in safety what it
lacked in speed. Un the latter 1 took passage,
lllslfiUT OF SONOMA COUNTY.
;uul iVoiii it* ilcuk liad my lir^t view of the ile-
viuiis iiieanderings of Ptjtaluina Creuk. In less
than two weeks thereafter tlie Sc-n-f'tr;/ went
up in a cloud of steam, aiul. like a leaden pluni-
inct, to the bottom of the bay, carrying with her
a score or more of passengers. There are resi-
dent in your county yet some of those wlio took
a salt-water bath on that occasion, but who were
fortunately rescued by the boat with which the
Scci-tfar;/ was racing at the time of the disaster.
.\ t'ellow-passenger on the liLUuLer. who knew
all the ins and outs of yo\ir then incipient city,
conducted me to the -Tom and Da\e"s House,'
where I found food and lodging. The title of
this house was derived from a contraction of the
given names of Thomas IJayliss and David
Flogdell, who were its keepers. Proprietors
and house, alike, liave passed away. As my
destination was the Eldorado on Russian River,
1 only tarried one night in Petaluma, and with
carpet-l)ag on back hastened onward.
" It was early in April, and as there had been
copious rains vegetation was luxuriant, and the
valleys and mountain sides as far as visi(jn could
reach were one undulating sea of wild oats.
The whole wide sweep of country beyond Peta-
luma was very sparsely settled at that tiuie.
About midway between Petaluma and Santa
Rosa the Moffet Jirothers were dairying upon a
large scale, and seemed to have free range of
Santa Ro-a Valley for their stock. My recol-
lection at present is that between the old C). E.
Mathews place, adjacent to Petaluma, and Santa
Rosa, there was l)ut one house immediately at
the road-side, and in it I took refuge from an
April shower.
•• I reached Santa Rosa in time t'or a late din-
ner. E. P. Colgan had just moved into the
rooms under the old Masonic Hall. Everything
was topsyturvy — tiic cooking stove having
barely been got in place. Mrs. C, notwith-
standing it was two o'clock r. m., inijirovised a
dinner, and thus I claim the honor of being the
first traveler to take a meal at a regular public
hotel in Santa Rosa.
"Although weary and foot-sore 1 determined
to go as far as the old Mark West Ranch llou>e
that evening. And just here I wish to record
my impression at tluit time — and I have no de-
sire to modify it now—that in all my wander-
ings upon tliis earth I had never before traversed
so Eden-like a vale as that between Santa Rosa
and Mark West. It was nature's own park.
Wild oats, clover and other indigenous grasses,
intermingled with a profusion of wild tlowers
of every shade and hue bedecked the broad ex-
pause of plains, while the oak timber, just
sparse enough {o give it an orchard-like appear-
ance, was putting on its new foliage amid the
drapery of pendent moss, that, like ten tlmu-
sand banners, courted the balmy breeze. It was
untarnished nature, neitiier marred nor scarred
by the plowshare of relentless man.
"At Mark West I found accommodations for
the night with a couple of Frenchmen, who had
a trading-post in one wing of the old Mark
West Ranch House. Morning again found me
a pedestrian on the Santa Rosa plains. My
course lay some miles westerly from the present
road of Healdsburg, bringing me to Russian
River about five miles below Fitch's. I then
traveled up the river, passing on the way a
clapboard shanty, in which Lindsey Carson,
brother of the famous Kit Carson, liad a little
store. Arriving at Fitch's it was necessary to
cross the river. There was a canoe moored at
the opposite shore and a number of Indians
lounging on the bank, but they were deaf to
my entreaties to l)e ferried across. After wait-
ing an hour one (.)f the Fitch's, a lad then of
fourteen or fifteen, came to my relief and con-
vinced the dusky savages that they had better
cross me over. My objective point for dinner
was Heald's, who occupied the present site of
Healdsburg. 1 was, however, doomed to dis-
appointment, as there was no one at home.
P'rom this point onward I was like a sailor at
sea without chart or compass. A dim road
alone attested that civilization liad preceded
me. Mile after mile was left behind, and yet
no sign of human habitation. Night cast iier
mantle over the earth, and I was alone in that
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
vast solitiule. Before darkness obscured clear
vision I noticed that the road was trending;
westward, and apparently away from the river
valley. At eii;ht o'clock at night, by the star-
light, I could see that around me was an aniplii
theater of mountains, rendered more somber by
a forest of redwoods. I bad about concluded
that supperless and bedless I was in for vigils
during the silent watches of the nig;lit, when the
barking of a dog further up the canon greeted
my eai'. Never until tlieii did I appreciate the
p let's rhapsody over ' tbedeep-iru)uthed liaying
of the watch-dog." There are a great many
worthless curs in the world who are libels on
respectable canines, but for all that man has no
truer, more steadfast and faithful friend than in
his dog. The ringing bark of the dog told me
as plainly as though in articulated words that
he had a master, and acting on this assurance 1
was soon by a blazing camp tire, and the reei|i-
ient of genuine backwoods hospitality from a
young man who had pitched camp there to get
out redwood fencing material to be used in the
valley.-^. My host shared with me his bed, and
so fatigued was 1 that, notwithstanding the in-
formation that the Indians had, oidy a week
previous, killed a man in a cafKin nearby, 1 was
soon oblivious to all worldly care. Tliis young
man was able- to give me positive information
concerning the reputed gold mines uj) the river
— suHicient, at least, to convince me Ihat on
Russian River was not located the (>pliir from
which Solomon got the gold for his temple, and
the ne.\t day I I'ctrcated in good urdcr, only
varying my nuile from that traveled up in that
I crossed over from Santa Kosa to the okl Mil-
ler & Walker store, near the now town of Sebas-
topol. and tlicncctd relMlnma by way of Stony
Point.
"A comparisdii nf the present with the past
as outlined by this hasty reminiscence of that
long ago, will give mmi: maiked emphasis to
the character and degree of progress made by
Sonoma County in the space of twenty- three
years."
We cannot lietter give a correcl idea of the
progress made in the settlement and development
of Sonoma ('ounty up to 1855 than by append-
ing the following:
Smith 1). Towne, the then assessor of So-
noma County, furnished to the Sonoma County
■Jdiirnul ill AugUht of 1855 the following
statistics relating to Sonoma and Mendocino
counties:
■'Tlie ijuantity of the land enclosed in this
and Mendocino counties, amounts to ;JT.t)5:2
acres; about 22,400 acres of which is in the
cultixation of the following ])roduct8:
" \Vlic<t(. - The number of acres sown is, 12,-
2i33, of which amount 3,500 acres only (mostly
from Chili and Oregon seed) is good, or but
very slightly affected with rust, and will average
28 bushels to the acre; making a total of 98,-
000 l)ushels. The remainder, or 8,733 acres,
was entirely destroyed, or nearly so, by the
'rust,' anil but a small portion was ever har-
\ested. Last year tlie wheat from Oregon and
Australia seed, was so badly 'smutted' that it
lost favor with our farmers, and the kind coni-
moidy known as the ' club-head,' became the
favorite, and was largely sown, but most unfor-
tunately it seems to have been the oidy kind
ati'ected this year.
''Oats. — The nnmher of aci'cs put down to
oats is, 3,268; a portion of which, in the im^
mediate vicinity of the coast, has been affected
by ' rust." 1 might have remarked that the
scoui'ge has even extended its ravages to the
indigenous plants and grasses of the soil.
From the many incpiiries, I am led to lielieve
that the total "lunnber of acres will make an
average crop of 35 bushels to the acre, which
gives a total of 104,380 bushels.
" liiii'leij. — This grain seems to lia\e but few
friends, and conse<|uently vei-y little was sown
in comparison with last year. In some locali-
ties, the 'cheat' has destroyed some kw fields;
with this exception the grain is good. Numbei'
of acres sown, 1,561; average yield, 32 bushels
to the acre; total, 49,952 bushels.
'• ('urn. Of this product thei'e ai-e 714 acres
jilantcil, the most of which i.i in the Kussiaii
insninv of sonoma county.
]ii\'('r and l)ry ('reuk valleys, where it seems to
llourish more luxuriantly than in any other por-
tion of onr coiintv. From present indications
there will undoubtedly be an abundant harvest;
say 40 bushels to the acre, making 28,580
bushels.
^^ Rye. — Only 8 acres sown, merely as an ex-
jieriment.
" Bucku-hcat. — Amount phinted, UU acres;
seems well adapted to our soil and climate. As
yet there has been none harvested; I cannot,
therefore, tell how it will yield.
'■' I'ean. — Number of acres loC); average yiekl,
80 bushels per acre; total, ■i,ti80 luisliels.
" Beans. — 177 acres.
*' Potatoes. — The quantity planted is, l.ti'.tS
acres, against 2,H00 last year, and will not prob-
al)ly yield more than 40 sacks to the acre, ow-
ing, perhaps, to the extreme hot dry weather in
June, which gives us a total ot 07,720 sacks, of
120 pounds each, i think this the outside tig-
ure. There is, however, no indication of worms
or insects disturbing them an<l what are raised
will most likely be perfectly sound and good.
" Pumpkins, Txirnlps, Beets, Onions, ete.,a.\\([
almost every kind of garden vegetaltles are
raised in abundance and to spare.
" Fruit Trees. — There are 6,730 set out,
mostly young, from one to three years old, com-
prising many varieties of apples, pears, peaches,
plums, cherry, iigs, apricots, etc. About one-
third of the number have commenced bearing
and in another year we may anticipate an
abundanre of fruit; and the present year, I
thiidv our county will compare as favorably both
as regartls i|iuintity, as any other county in the
State.
" Vliieijarils. — In addition to the orchards,
there are many line vineyards, numbering in
the aggregate some 24,800 vines, many of wdiich
arc loaded with grapes. The estimated quan-
tity gathered last year was 80 tons; the present
season it will be fully doubled.
'■^Atnerican Cattle. — JS' umber of milch cows,
5,850; dry cows, 2,575; calves, 5,750; work
open, 2,771; beef cattle, 1,922; yearlings, 4,2'J4;
total number of .\merican cattle, 22,622. To
this must be added the California cattle, 8,588;
which gives a total number of cattle (American
and California) 26,250.
'■'■Horses. — Number of gentle horses, Ameri-
can and Spanish, 3,708; wild California horses
(manada) 1,250; total number of horses, 4,U58.
"Of Mules there are 328; of //r;y.s-, l'J,45!t;
of Sheep, 7,0t;5."
The first fair of Sonoma County was held on
the public square at Santa Ilosa and which was
thus reported, and appeared in the J'etaluma
Journal of October 20, 1855:
"Our village was thronged yesterday with
people from all parts of the county to attend the
first fair of the .\gricultural Society. The
shaded plaza in front of the court house,
was selected for the place of exhibition, and
here was gathered a tine collection of horses,
mules, and horned cattle.
"The large Durham bull belonging to Lo\ell
& ISrothers, of Vallejo Township, attracted uni-
versal attention. This animal is four years old;
and received a premium at the recent exhibition
at Sacramento. Several fine stallions were also
much admired; particularly Sir CIiarles,-A dark
bay, seven years old, Ijclonging to Mr. Seabringot
l)odega; and a light bay, belonging to Mr. Tateot
Santa liosa; latter the took the first premium.
" After the crowd had gazed their full at the
animals in a state of repose, they were en-
livened by a display of the locomotive jiowers
of the horses, both under the saddle and in
harness. A large gray horse lielonging to Mr.
Robinson of Petaluma. excited much remark;
with good training, he will no doubt become a
fine trotter.
"At four o'clock the comjiany adjourned to
the court house, and listened to a few introduc-
tory remarks by Dr. Hill, the president of the
society, and an interested address from C. 1*.
Wilkins, Esq., on the imjwrtance of the applica-
tion of the sciences to agricnlture.
" The proceedings of the day were brought
to a brilliant and harmonious close, by a ball at
the Masonic Hall.
HISTORY OF SOXOMA COUNTY.
117
"We subjoin a list of the premiums awiudL'd,
fur which we are indebted to Mr. Powers,
secretary of the society. Tlie first premiums
were money, the second and tliird were dijiio-
mas of tlie society.
•' Best stallion, >^1U, to Air. Tate of Santa
IJosa; second best, to Mr. Seabring, of itodega ;
third best, to Mr. Manning of Green Valley.
" I>est stud colt, premium to Mr. McMiuu;
second best, to Mr. McDowell.
''Best brood luare, $8, to.Iulio Carrillo, of
Santa Kosa ; second best, to Mr. Stanley, of
I'etalunui; third, to Mr. Watson.
"Best colt, $5, to Mr. Seabring, of Bodega;
second to Mr. Tate, of Santa Rosa.
" Best riding horse, !?5, to Mr. Wright, of
Santa Rosa.
"Best buggy horse, So, to Mr. liobin^on, of
Betaluina.
" Hest draft horse, !ti5, to Mr. Stanley, of
I'etalunia.
" ! Jest mule, premium to Mr. Wright, of Santa
liosa.
"liest bull. !f;8, to Buvell iV i'.rothers, of Val-
lejo Township.
"Bestcow, !B8, to Mr. Wrigiit, of Santa Kosa.
•> Best calf !ji5, to Air. AVright, of Santa Rosa.
" Hest beef steer, So, to Mr. Clark, of Santa
Rosa.
" Best specimen of cheese, $)J, to Mr. Till'e,
of I'etaluma.
" Best specimen of wheat, S5, to Air. Neal,
of Santa Rosa.
" Best specimen of saddlery, !f;2.50, to Air.
Barnard, of Santa Rosa."
While the above showing of the assessor, as
well as the rejiort of the County Fair, will
seem small and inconsequential when con-
trasted with he products of Sonoma County
now, yet it shows that the people had accom-
plished very much, considering the newness of
the country.
118
HISTORY OF S02fOMA COUNTY.
'^>^~^-^S^-^^^i^^-^\^
CHAPTER XII.
EPITOME OF THE FIKf-T VEAk's KEI OKP UE THE SuXOMA CViT>-TY JoUKNAI, ThX GEYSER'^
1S56 — IHK PeTALIMA IIUNIKKs IX 1860.
fllE first newspaper published in Petaiiiina
: appeared on the 18th vi' August. 1855,
^' and was entitled T/ie I'etalutna Weekly
Joui'iuil and Sonoma County Advertiser. Hon.
Thomas L. Thompson, now of the Santa Rosa
Democrat, was proprietor, and H. L. AVcston,
long one of the proprietors of the Anjus,
and 3'et a citizen of Petaluma, was foreman of
the otiicc, which was in a one-story wooden
building situated on the present site of Towne's
drug store. The only other paper being pulj-
lislied in the county was the Sonoma Bulletin,
bv A. J. Cox, and as it suspended publication
in September of that year, the Journal became
the repository of all matters of historic concern,
not only of Sonoma, but of some of the adjacent
counties that as yet had no public journals of
their own. While the most of the matter con-
tained in the tiles of this ]'ournal from the IStli
of August, 1855, to the 18th of August, 185B,
is local to Petaluma, yet there is so much of it
that relates to the whole county that an epitome
III' it properly falls within the scope of the
county's general history.
Among the items of general interest in the
first issue we find the annual report of S. D.
Towne, county assessor, from which it is
learned that within the territory now constitut-
ing the counties of Sonoma and Mendocino,
there were 87,052 acres of enclosed land, of
W'liich 22,400 were under cultivation. There
were 12,233 acres of wheat, of which it was
estimated that 3,500 acres would yield twenty -
eight bushels per acre, the remainder being
nearly all destroyed by rust. Rust also ex-
tended its ravages to the indigenous plants and
grasses.
Among the Petaluma advertisers in this lirst
i'ew.issues were: attorneys-at-law. AVni. I). Bliss,
Wm. A. Cornwall, J. Chandlar, and I. G.
Wickershani ; saddlery, Samuels & Gedney and
W. Van Houghton; dry goods and groceries.
Hill ct Lyon and Elder vN: Plinman; painting,
Geo. W. Andrews and J. B. Bailey; lumber, H.
S. Xewton and Geo. R. Perkins; hardware,
Derby A: Baldwin; dealers in produce and
agents for Petaluma line of packets, Kittrell it
Co.; drug and book store, S. C. Haydon; Ameri-
can Hotel, Anthony G. Oakes; general mer-
chandise, Calish & x^ewman; steamer Reindeer,
Edward Latapie, master; furniture, L. Chap-
man; dentist, W. D. Trinque; Petaluma House,
Ramsey it Light; stable and stock-yard, C. I.
Robinson; Pioneer Hotel, D. "W. Flogdell. A.
B. Bowers and Miss Morse were the teachers of
the Petaluma public scliool. X, McC. Menefee
ffrSTORT OF SONOMA COUNTY.
was county clerk, and Tlioinas IT. Pyatt and
Joel JNIiller, deputies; Israel Brockiuaii was
slieriff and A. C. McKinnen, deputy.
Tiie California State election was lield on the
5th of Septeinher, and is reported as follows:
J. Neely Johnson, Know Nothing, was elected
Governor over John Bigler, Democrat, by
a majority of 5,011 in a total vote of 96,885.
In Petaluma the vote stood Johnson 277, Bigler
204. The Settlers' elected their entire county
ticket by a large majority. The following were
the officers chosen: Assemblymen, 11. (1. lleald
and J. S. Rathbnrn; County Judge, Wm.
Churchman; District Attorney, I. G. Wicker-
sham; County Clerk, N. McC. Menefee; Sheriii',
A. C. Bledso; Treasurer, W. A. Buster; Super-
intendent of Schools, B. n. Bonham; Surveyor,
Wm. Mock; Assessor, W.G.Lee; Coroner, J.
S. Williams; Public Administrator, "W.B. Atter-
berry. The total vote polled in Sonoma and
^[(Mulocino was 1,890. In the issne of the 8th
(jf September the following mention is made:
"The county seat was removed last fall from
Sonoma to Santa Tiosa, at which time the latter
place contained not more than one or two
honses; it now boasts of three stores, two hotels,
one restaurant, one blacksmith shop, a large
livery stable, various private residences and
several new houses in course of constrnction.
The county buildings are not constructed but
lumber is on the ground for their commence-
ment." Tiie Sonoma BuUetin, about the 12tli
of September, requested the Jcnnxil to an-
nounce its demise.
In Septeml)er and October we tind the follow-
ing record: The Steamer (rcorc/ind, which had
been running on the Sonoma and San Francisco
line, commenced making regular trips between
Petaluma and San Francisco tlic 17th of Sep-
tember. The Kate Na//t'.i, under tlie command
of Captain C. M. Baxter, was also making regu-
lar trips. Among new advertisers who put in
an appearance during the months of Septembei-
and October, were C. P. Wilkins, attorney-at-
law; W. L. Anderson and John S. liobberson,
M. Weil & Co., U. Samuels and M. Amies, and
John G. Huff, general merchandise; Thomas L.
Barnes, S. W. Brown and T. A. Hylton, physi-
cians and surgeons; B. Tannebaum, dry goods;
A. Skill man and Wm. Zartman, and Dean &
Bates, wagon and carriage- makers. The co-
partnership of Wm. Zartman, John Fritscli and
James Reed, who were engaged in lilacksmith-
ing and wagon-making, was dissolved the 23d
of October, James Reed having perished on the
ill-fated Central Ami'rira that went down at sea.
The Bodega steam saw-mill, owned by B.
Phelps, of San Francisco, was destroyed by
tire on the night of October 18, the loss beinc
between $15,000 and !!;18,000. The first fair of
Sonoma County was held in Santa Rosa on the
plaza, in front of the court house, October 18.
The board of managers of the society consisted
of Dr. J. Hill, President; B. B. Munday,
Vice-President; Mr. Jenkins, Treasurer; S. T.
Power, Secretary; Judge Thompson, Dr.
Ornisby, Major Beck, Major Ewing, .\. Cope-
land and J. M. Hudspeth, Directors. The
State fair was held at Sacramento during the
last week of Se|)tember. Among the successful
competitors for jireminms were the following
named from Sonoma County: II. L. Lovell A:
Brother, of Yallejo Township, for the best bull,
California bred Durham, $50; second best
cheese, Samuel Lewis, $15; best five acres or
liiore of corn, H. M. Wilson, Russian River, $50.
Between November 10 and December 15,
1855, the Jovrnal contained the following :
Among new advertisers were, E. B. Cooper,
groceries ; Rosanna Loftus, Farmer's Hotel ;
Sam Brown, American Hotel; Harmon Ramer
and J. H. Knowles, Petaluma and IJodega Stage
Line; J. E. Fowler, bakery and restaurant;
George W. Miller, barber; E. \\. Lockley, attor-
ney-at-la\v, Santa Rosa ; John llandley, dry
goods, groceries and hardware, Santa Rosa. .\t
ten o'clock, a. m., on the morning of Friday,
November 23d, the boiler of the steamer Geonj-
iiKi exploded while lying at her wharf in the
creek at the foot of Fnglish street (now West-
ern avenuej, taking on freight and passengers,
killing .loliii Flood, fireman, and George Funk,
HISTORY OF SONOMA OOUNTT.
and wounding G. IJiisher and Valentine Iken.
Tiie coroner's jury returned a verdict to the
eftect tliat Flood came to his deatli by the crim-
inal conduct and inattention of the cajitain of
the steamer, John Tiionipson, and of the owners.
The Geortfina was owned by Wagner & I5ihler,
of Sonoma. The jury consisted of J. V>. South-
ard, E. S. McMurrj, James E. Gedney, S. P.
Derby, Charles R. Arthur, Jonathan Adams, J.
H. Sproule, S. J. Smith, Harrison Stanley, Wm.
Shelton, J. D. Bartlett, George Harris and
William Van Houten. A postoffice, with Seveir
Lewis as postmaster, was estal)lished at Windsor
about the 10th of November. Captain Stephen
Smith, one of the pioneer American settlers in
California, an<l owner of the Smith ranch in
Bodega, died at San Francisco, on the Itith of
November. He was a native of Danforth,
Massachusetts, and aged sixty-nine years. But-
ter from the Petaluma dairies, which were
already famous thi-oughout the State, was worth
si. 25 per jionnd in Sacramento.
Between the dates of December 15, 1855, and
March 1, 185('), appears the following: On Jan-
nary 5th the following were installed officers of
Betahima Loili;e, I. ( ). O. F. : 1). 1). Carder,
N. G.; S. Payran..V. (i.;.I. 11. Siddons, Jl. S.;
J. K. Cramer, P. S.; M. II. Jose, T.; J. E. (Jed-
ney, C; R. Phinney, W. ; Ge irge Harris, li. S.
N.'g.; Abraham Ward, L. S. N. (i.: \. K.
Vietz, R. S. V. G.; John Stiitman, L. .^. \ . (i.;
Thomas C. Gray, R. S. S.; James B. Il.igle, L.
S. S. The new county buildings at Santa Rosa
were completed about the 25th of December.
Among the new Petaluma advertisements were
E. F.Martin, groceries; G. P. Kellogg, dagner-
rean artist; Robinson it Doyle, stable and stock
yard; (tus Harris, groceries, dry goods, hard-
ware, crockery, etc. On the 23d of January
Mr. Schwartz exhibited to the editor of the
Joirrnal half an ounce of gold taken from the
Bodega Mines. It was of a rough, coarse char-
acter, and of a rusty color, but very pure, and
worth ^111 per oimee. On the 31st of January,
James HoUonsby, a native of New York, and
twentv seven vears of atfe was killed near Peta-
luma by the accidental discharge of his gun.
In February, a military conipanj' was organized,
called the Petaluma Guard, with the following
officers: Captain P. B. Hewlett; First Lieu-
tenant, J. II. Siddons; Second Lieutenant,
Frank Bray; Brevet Lieutenant, Thomas F.
Baylis; First Sergeant, F.J. Benjamin; Second
Sergeant, M. JI. Jose; Third Sergeant, G. B.
Mathews; l'"onrth Sergeant, Warren G. Gibbs;
First Corporal, O. T. Baldwin; Second Corporal,
J. K. Cramer; Third Corporal, B. F. Cooper;
Fourth Corporal, Samuel Brown. The company
nninliered forty members, and offered to serve
as a tire company if furnished with apparatus.
On the 18th of February tJie Democracy met in
mass convention at Santa Rosa, and elected M.
E. Cook, Jasper O'Farrell, R. Harrison, P. R.
Thompson, Josiah Moran, C. P. Wilkins and
George Pearce as delegates to a State Conven-
tion, to be held at Sacramento on the 5th of
March.
Between March 1 and June 7, ISotl, there
was recoriled the following: At a meeting in
Petaluma on the 15th of March it was decided,
liy a majority of three, to incorporate. Thei'e
is beginning to be manifested a bitter feeling
between sellers and grant owners, as is evi-
denced by several communications on each side
of the question ; and on the 29th of March the
Settler's Bill passed the California Senate. On
the 5th of April there was reported trouble
between tlu'(ireeii Valley and Tomales Indians,
growing out of the killing of one of the former
tribe, by one of the latter. The surrender of
the offending Tomales Indian was demanded —
if not delivered up war was lial)le to ensue. We
find, however, no record of the war. On April
19th Colonel A. C. Godwin, Julio Carrillo and
J. Crane, directors of the Geyser Road Com-
pany, made a report in which they mapped out
what they believe to be a feasible route for a
wagon road to those springs. April 26tli
announcement is made that Captain Ray, with
a large force of Indians is making rapid prog-
ress in the construction of a road os'er Bald
Mountains to the Geysers. In the Journal ot
mSTORT OF SONOMA COUNTi'.
tlie 3rd of IVIay appears tlie valedictory of
Tliomas L. Thompson, as editor and proprietor
— H. L. Weston being his successor. Judge J.
E. McNear, a pioneer of California, and formerly
county judge of Sonoma, died in San Francisco
on the Cth of May. Tiie following new adver-
tisements had a|ipeared of new lieginners in
Petahima : A. Meyer, lessons in music and
singing; A. Ayres, saddlery and harness; .lames
Daly, groceries and provisions; William R.
Wells, physician and surgeon; Israel Cook,
brick-laying and plastering; (leorge J. J>aus-
tetter. Union ISilliard Saloon; II. P. lleintzel-
man, agent for steamer Genercd /rtfar?i(?y, plying
between Petaluma and San Francisco; Ceorge
Ross, dealer in paints, oils, varnish, etc. In
the issue of June 5th mention is made of (lov-
ernor Johnson's proclamation on account of the
vigilance committee, declaring San Francisco
in a state of insurrection, and ordering all per-
sons liable to military duty to report to Majoi'
General W. T. Sherman. On the 14th of June
James King, of William, of the San Francisco
BnUetin was shot, and died on the 20th. On
the 22(1 Casey and Cora were hung by the vigi-
lance committee, and on the 31st Vankee Sul-
livan, the noted prize-fighter, held in durance
vile by the vigilance committee, committed sui-
cide. The nearness of Petaluma to San Fran-
cisco rendered these occurrences of thrilling
interest to her people.
Petween the 7tli of May and 2d of August
the following record is made: The value of the
butter, cheese, and eggs produced and sold in
the vicinity of Petaluma, Santa Rosa, and Rus-
sian River, during the month of May, was esti-
mated at $i)2,39!). The steamers I\at,' ILiiji:^
and General Kearnc;/ were rimning in opposi-
tion, to San Francisco, at twenty-five cents and
one dollai-, respectively, for passengers. The
new advertisers for Petaluma were: Mrs. W.
II. Parker, school for young ladies; Acton,
Ste])hens i^' Parker, produce depot, and W. P.
Ewing, Geyser Hotel. St. John's Fpiscimal
Chnrcli, Petaluma, was organized July 31st, by
the election of the following vestrymen: John
Keyes, Tomales; Dr. T. Ilendley, San^a Rosa;
D. D. Carder, V,o\. J. P. Ilewie, P. R. Thomp-
son, and J. Thompson Iliiie, V'allejo Township;
I. G. Wickersham, S. C. Ilaydon, and O. T.
Baldwin, of Petaluma.
The following is made up trom the last two
nnmbers of Volume I of the Journal — the re-
spective dates being August 9 and 10, ISytJ:
At three o'clock on the morning of August 4th,
a two-story fire-proof building on Main street,
(occupying ground upon which now stands the
northern portion of PhfPnix I 'lock) fell to tiie
ground and was almost a complete ruin. The
building was owned by Gowen & McKay, and
was occupied on the first floor by L. (Chapman
as a furniture store, and on the second by the
Odd Fellows and Masons. The front of the
building fell into the street and the north side
Tipon the adjoining wooden building, owned
and occupied by S. V. Ilaydon as a drug store,
completely demolishing the bnilding and de-
stroying the goods. The south wall slid down
an embankment into the cellars in the two ad-
joining lots, the e.\cavating of which caused
the catastrophe. Mr. Ilaydon narrowly escaped
being killed. The following names were ap-
pended to a call for a Republican mass conven-
tion to be held at Petaluma, on August 20,
1850, the first convention called by that j^arty
in Sonoma County: J. Chandler, S. W. Brown,
M. Aines, M. I Human, J. N. Newton, A. C.
Salter, L. Chapman, J. FL Fowler, J. Palmer,
O. T. Baldwin, W. D. Bliss, L. M. Judkins,
George Harris, O. Walker, J. F. Reed, John
Fritsch, J. II. Masten, G. Warnei-, F. J. Penja-
min, Hiram Luce, N. ( ). Start'ord, (t. (". Trues-
dell, Joel Merchant, O. II. Lovett, Jacob (iilbert,
John Wells, C. P. Hatch, J. L. Pickett, W. (;.
Gibbs, F. C. Davis, R. Douglass, G. AV. Mowci-,
W. C. Conley, (i. W. Barnard, William Z;iit-
man, John .1. Bind, G. Barry, E. Linn, Pliilc-
mon Hill, Freeman Parker, J. D. Thompson.
With its issue of the 16tli of August, lSo(i,
the ./o?/;vi(7/ closed the first year of its existence.
This chapter culled from its columns, as con-
fuse<l and broken-jointed as it is, will not be
lllsroKY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
devoid of interest to those of onr pioneers still
left, for in it is the names of a very large pro-
pcrtidH (if those who helpeil to hiy the founda-
tion of Sonoma County'sgreatnessand prosperity
— many of wiiom have already passed over the
summit, to the lllimitaMe vales of tlie hitlilen
beyond.
rill i.KVSKKS IN ISoti.
As an ailendum to this record of 1855-'5t:i, as
collated from the first volume of the Journal,
we can fitly append the following, descriptive
of the country and tiie (ieyser Springs as seen
in 185fi. Tlie writer, in company with (t. W.
Heed, afterward a rejiresentative in tlie Califor
nia Legislature from Sonoma County, traveled
from Two iiock Valley to the (leysers. We
rode California mustangs, as at that time there
was only a hriille trail to the Geysers. Then
Major Ewing was the proprietor of those springs
and the buildings were all of canvas. Mr.
Reed (long >ince deceased), who had been onr
companion in the mines, wrote for the Sonoma
County Jdiiniiil the following sketch of our trip:
" Ho, for the (ieysersi" shouted my friend.
'•Aye, for the (Jeysers," was the hearty re
spouse. A few minutes hasty preparation ami
we bade adieu to our friends, sprang into oiii'
saddles and soon were galloping o\er the liills
at a break-neck speed. The morning was beau-
tiful. A cloudless sky and a refreshing breeze
lent additional splendor to the scenery, and
imparted buoyanry and elasticity to our spirits.
Onr horses caught a spark of the enthusiasm
that liurned in the heart, and beamed from the
eyes of their riders, (living them the rein they
bore us rapidly over the undulating hills in the
vicinity of the Two Uocks, till, descending a
narrow detile, we entereil the beautiful valley of
Santa Rosa. Here, shaded by the wide-spread-
ing oaks, planted by the hand of nature to
adorn this lovely valley, and refreshed by the
breeze that played among their branches, onr
horses sprang forward with redoubled speed,
and as we glided rapidly along, the sturdy old
oaks appeared to be whirling in a giddy dance.
Evervthino- was heautv and animation. Numer
ous herds of horses and cattle were seen on
every side; some luxuriating on the rich pastur-
age, and others ruminating in the cool shade,
with an air of calm enjoyment. Occasionally
the outlines of a neat white cottage, indistinctly
seen through the dark, green foliage of a thick
clump of oaks, tlireiv ijuiet home-like appear
ances over the whole scene. Delighted with
the beauties of the valley, we deviated from our
direct course, and arrived at the village of Santa
Rosa, at 4 o'clock v. m., and halted for the night.
"Santa Rosa has a pleasant situation, and the
buildings look neat and attractive, in the
morning we started early. An hour'rj ride
brought us to a low range of hills, passing
tlirongh which, we entered the valley of Rus-
sian River, wliich in appearance is not less
animated and l)eautiful than Santa Rosa. Tra-
veling up the valley, three hours" ride brought
us to the Mountain House, here we halted for
i-efreshments. At tliis point, the road leading
to the (leysers turns into the mountains. After
resting an hour, we commenced the ascent of
the mount:nn. The road is good, and the ascent
was easy. We soon stood upon the summit of
liald Hill. Certainly not a very poetical name,
yet I iloiiht whether many of the mountains,
famous in history an<l classic literature, can
present a view so full of lieauty and sublimity.
Arriving at the summit oi' this mountain, the
valleys of Santa Rosa and Kussian Rivei- lay
like a map at onr feet. The country which we
had .~o much admired iluring onr ride, was now
all presented at a single view, and we stood gaz-
ing on the scene spread out liefore us, in mute
admiration.
"Reared upon the Fertile bosom ot the -prai-
rieil west," from our earliest childhood we have
l)een accustomed to contemplate the untarnished
beauties of nature, but never l)efore did onr eyes
rest upon a landscape that excited such lively
emotions, as the one now at our feet. The
broad expanse of the fertile valley, covered with
rich grass of a golden tint, and variegated by
groves of spreading oaks, apparently artistically
arrantfcd, through which the river wound its
HISTORY OF SONOMA OOUNTY.
12:!
serpentine conrse, with its bright erystal waters
sparivling in the sunlight, contrasted finely with
the dark cloud of tog that obscured the more
elevated hills in the background. The whole
gorgeously illuminated by the rays of the
declining sun, reminded us of Addison's descrip-
tion of the ' Happy Isles ' that arc to be the
• abode of good men after death.'
"This delightful valley, destined tu be the
happy home of thousands, is but sparsely popu-
lated, and its resources un<leveloped. But the
tide of immigration is setting thitherward.
The busy hum of the industrious pioneers will
soon be heard in the valley; and at the fii-st wave
of the potent wand of the Anglo-Saxon race, the
earth will yield her abundance; fields of grain
will wave gracefully in tlie breeze, and cottages,
school-houses ami clinrches, will spring up to
adorn onr land; the merry voice of happy chil-
dren will echo through the valley, and a pros-
perous community, happy in the enjoyment of
civil and religious liberty, will thank heaven
that they have found a home in this fair region.
" Prom this ])oint the road is rough and im-
pa88il)le f'oi' carriages. The scenery suddenly
changes, and nature puts on her > rudest form.'
The mountains rear their bold, rugged fronts
athwart the traveler's way, like colossal embattle-
inents, looking in this magnificent display of
nature's wontlers, to impede the ativancing steps
of the adventurous intruder. .Not aware of the
difKculties we had to encounter, we lingered too
long by the way, and night spi-ead her dusky
mantle o'er the mountains, while the most ditti-
cult part of the journey was yet to be made.
After a laborious march, at eight o'clock in the
evening, very much fatigued, and with the ardor
of our enthusiasm somewhat abated, we arrived
at our ilestination. The hearty welcome and
generous hospitality of the [u-oprietors soon
rendered ns forgetful «if our fatigues, and re-
stored onr usual good spirits. Aftei' a hearty
sujjper and a pleasant chat, we retired to our
room, and forgetful alike of pain or pleasure, soon
yielded to the sweet embrace of the sleepy god.
"With the earliest dawn, we sprang from our
conch, and sallied forth with eager curiosity to
take our first peep at the Geysers. We found
ourself on a bench or flat in the side of the
mountain. In front, and two hundred feet
below, was a rocky canon, while above us. on
either side, the mountains rose to tlie height of
a thousand feet, with their tops gilded with the
first rays of the morning sun, while twilight
lingered in the depths below. Dense clouds of
steam, impenetrable to the eye, obscured the
opposite slo])e, and a loud stunning noise like
steam escaping from a hundred boilers, echoed
through the hills. Descending into the canon,
we climbed up through a narrow chasm in the
rock, and truly stood in a " theatre of wonders."
On either side, the rocks rose abruptly, and
steam whistled through every crevice, while
under our feet we could hear the gurgling
sound of the boiling fluid. The whole moun-
tain appeared to tremble as though it floated on
the surface of a boiling lake. Fi'oin an eleva-
tion of two or three liundred feet, down to the
bed of the stream that flows through the canon,
boiling water and jets of steam are issuing
through the fissures of the rock. A grander
e.xliibition of the wonderful in nature is seldom
seen. Its contemplation awes the heart bv a
conscious pi-esence of sn])erior j)owers, ami
involuntarily turns the mind to reflect upon the
power and wisdom of the (ireat Author of the
universe. Innumerable ages, buried in the
oblivion of the past, have run their course since
these boiling fountains first burst through the
rocky liarriers of the mountain. Countless
years rolled away, while their sublime thunder
echot'il through the dreary solitude, uidieai'd bv
the ear, or uuaj)proacheil by the footstep ol
civilized man. lint henceforth the invalid, the
devotee of jileasnre, and the idle and curious of
everj' land, will flock thither ; • silks rustle,
jewels shine,' and fashion's g.ay, heartless throuif,
will move to and fro, as though their ephemeral
pleasure were as eternal as the hills.""
Mr. Ileed, who penned the above, has long
since crumbled to dust, and yet how prophetic
his words! Of those who have visited those
HISTORY Op SONOMA dOlTNTT.
same geysers and marveled at the wonders of
nature's laboratory, liovv many, after fretting np
and down life's stage for a brief period, have
passed on, and that they ever lixed is only
evideneed liy a slab of "dull cold inai'blcf
TMI': I'K.TAIJ'MA illXTERS.
In tlic fall of 18H0, the writer in company
with six boon companions spent about half a
month hunting on the boundarj' line between
Sonoma and Mendocino counties. The following
is his description of the country and the adven-
tures of his party written at the time for the
Sonoma County Journal :
"In life there is uo enjoyment liowe'erit ni;iy ;il)oun(l,
Like luinting tlirontrli llie wckkIIiimiIs witli liHes and wilh
liounds."
'• On Monthly morning, the 24th of Septem-
ber, 181)0, there might have been seen, not 'a
solitary' (a In eJames), but seven horsemen gal-
loping across the low hills that intervene be-
tween the city of Petaluma and the Santa Itosa
plains. The guns that hung ]iendant tVom the
saddle bows, and the sable specimen of the
canine family that brought up the I'car. marked
them as disciples of Nimrod intent on pleasure
and adventure. In brief, the object of our little
party was to leave the haunts of civilization, and
in the wild freedom of the forest and excite-
ment of the chase, seek oblivion from the every
day cares of life. With a leader whose name
is a terror to bruin, and a guide familiar
with the intricate paths and by-ways that thread
tlie almost nninhabited region lying between
the head waters of Dry Creek and the C!oast
Range, we naturally anticipated rare sport.
Elated with the pros])ect before us, we gave
loose rein to our horses, and they, as if imbued
witii the spirit of their riders, went dashing up
the Santa liosa Valley, bearing us over level
plain and through orchard-like groves, that con-
trasted strangely with the Sonoma Mountains
to our right, with their buckskin scenery varia-
gated by an occasional clump of evergreen oak,
or the somber appearance of the red-woods in
perspective to our left. About 11 o'clock we
passed the village of Santa ilosa, county seat of
Sonoma. It is located on Santa Rosa Creek,
and presents a neat and tidy appearance. One
peculiarity that strikes the traveler approach-
ing this village, is the uniformity disjdayed in
the architecture of its buildings, and the an-
tique appearance of its gable chimneys that
stand like shot towers exposed to the weather.
A ride of five miles brought us to Mark West
Creek. At the crossing of this stream the
Campbellites were holding their annual meet-
ing. Hitching our horses in an adjacent
grove, and (li\'esting ourselves of our hunting
accoutrements, we approached the camp. It
was at the close of 11 o'clock service, and tiie \ast
concourse of people were singing, perhaps with
the spii-it, !)ut with little i-egard to melody. .V
minister occupying a prominent position on a
bench, was exhoi'ting the impenitent to 'l)e-
lieve and be ba])tised,' and some ten or twelve
responded to the call. As impressive as was
the scene, its effect upon ns was connteraoti'd
l)y one of the ministers volunteering the admo-
nition to the new converts, that they must re-
gard their • religious neighbors as their reli-
gions enemies.' Such illiberality might justly
be regarded as a relic of that proscripti\e age
that must e\er be remembered as the gloomy
morn that heralded the dawn of a brighter day.
The attendance at this meeting was greater than
perhaps at any meeting of similar charactei- in
this region, and we were informed that between
eighty and a hundred had united with the church.
"As we wished to reach Healdsburg in season
to perfect our arrangements for camp life, we
remonnted and rode toward Russian River. The
mountains on either side gradually closed in,
narrowing the valley down until lost in undu-
lating hills, which indicated our approach to
the river. Russian River is a stream of con-
siderable magnitude when swollen by the winter
rains, but at present is almost lost by filtering
through the cobble-stone and sand over which it
flows. The bottom land along this river is
justly celebrated for the corn it produces. We
have seen tall corn on tlie western prairies, but
none that would bear comparison with the corn
HISTORY OP SONOMA COUNTY.
135
of Russian River. At five in tlie evening we
lialted before tiie Sotoyome, tlie only lionse of
public entertainment in Ileaklsbnrg. This vil-
laj^e might with propriety be dubbed the ' Vil-
lage of Woods,' as it is completely embowered
in a grove of oak and madrono, giving to it an
air of quiet and seclusion really inviting to
those used to the bustle and confusion of more
populous places. Occupying a position just
al)ovc the continence of Dry Creek and Iiussian
River, it is the natural channel through which
the produce of both valleys must pass, thus
giving to it superior advantages as an inland
town. Here it was necessary to lay in our sup-
ply of provisions and ammuintion, as there was
no trading post higher up on the route we de-
signed taking. A couple of sacks of Hour, tea,
coffee, and necessary condiments, with a keg of
powder, lead, shot, etc., completed our outtit;
and as we had already bargained for a pack ani-
mal til convey it to its destination in the moun-
tains, we smoked our jdpes and retired to i-est,
felicitating ourselves on the pi'ospect of an early
start in tlie morning. In this, however, we
were disappointed, for when ready to start, the
Hibernian that presided over i/iat livery stable
informed us that the horse he designed ns to
have was on a ranc/io some distance from town,
that he had sent after it, and was confident it
would be brought in sometime during the day.
This was annoying — it overcame our captain's
usual ecjuanimity, causing him, we are sorry to
say, to use language 7U)t to be found in the
Westminister catechism. We remonstrated —
we threatened- informed him that one of our
number was a lawyer by profession, and heavy
on livery stable practice, but it was no go, and
only called forth a proposition that he would
let us have a horse if we would pay doul)le the
stipulated price. This did not tend to molify
us, and we left that stable vowing that we would
jiatronize some other establishment on our re-
turn. After a delay of a couple of hours, we
started up Dry Creek Valley with our muni-
tions packed by an ill-visaged, iiall-faced animal
tliat wonlil havi' passed as a duplicate of the
famous ' Rosinante.' A youthful and inconsid-
erate member of our company was in the hal)it
of urging him forward by exclaiming 'git u]>
and git, old bally,' but our captain very prop-
erly checked him, by reminding him of the fate
of forty rude boys in a land that aliounded in
bears.
" It is about twelve miles from Ilealdsbui-g to
the canon at the head of Dry Creek ^'alley.
This valley consists of a rich loam formed by
the decayed vegetation that is annually boi'ue
down and deposited by the mountain streams.
Its luxuriant fields of corn indicated its capacity
to }noduce, and we are much mistaken if the
(lay is far distant when hop and tobacco culture
will claim the attention and jirove remuner-
ative to those disposed to engage in it. At the
head of the valley we bade adieu to ci\ilization
and wagon roads, and taking the pack trail, be-
gan the ascent of the rugged mountain. Onward
and upward we toiled our way, some leading
their horses, others preferring to let their's go
ahead, therelty giving them the advantage of
'tail holt' to assist them in their ascent.
Before we reached the summit bandanas were
ill requisition, and standing collars were meta-
morphosed into drooping ' I'yrons.' .\s htbor-
ions as was the ascent, we were amply i-opai<l
by the extensive prospect that was opened to
us, for as far as the e^'c could scan there was
one confused jumble of mountains, clad with
forests of redwood and fir, whose spiral to] s
seemed to pierce the clouds. Ten miles ot
rough roads lay between us and tlu' springs
whei-e we designed ])itcliing camji that night,
and urging oui' jaded hoi'ses forwartl along a
tortuous trail that was liedg('(l in by chaparral
and manzaneta thickets, we lialtcil at fi\e in tiie
evening, weary and hungry. To picket oni'
horses and build a camjt fire claimed our first
attention; then camt; a scene worthy the jiencil
of an artist. Men who were wont to turn up their
noses at better victuals than graced the table ot
'Dives,' might be seen devouring with avidity
slices of bacon they had liroiled before the fire
on the end of their ramroils; fratjrant coti'ee was
I9fi
iriHTOIlY OF SONOMA GOFNTV
sipped from tin cups, and the clatter of knives
and forks upon tin plates, gave evidence that
ample justice was done to the repast, notwith-
standing tiie absence of delf. Spreading oiii-
•blankets upon the earth, and witii our heads
pillowed upon our saddles and the starry
heavens for a canopy, we consigned ourselves
to the embrace of ' tired nature's restorer.' We
were up by early dawn and ready to take the
trail leading to Flat Ridge, ten miles distant.
The springs at which we camped, our guide in-
formed us were without a name, and we chris-
tened them 'Hunter's Springs.'
" As we ascended a sharp ridge that towered
above the surrounding mountains, the sun rose
bright and clear above the mountains to the
eastward, and its retlection upon the dense sea-
fog, that had settled in the canons and gorges of
the mountains, gave iis a view grand and sub-
lime. Seas, l)ays, and friths, were mixed to-
gether in admirable confusion. Their placid,
mirror-like surface was unrippled by a breeze,
and Minfurrowed by a keel.' l''or an hour we
enjoyed the illusion, when the rays nf • Sol '
began to troulde the waters; at first, ripples
appeared on the surface, then billow chased bil-
low, and finally rising in fleecy folds, it floated
heavenward revealing the wilderness of forest
that had apparently iieen submerged. I'assing
down a steep declivity toward Flat Ridge, we
met with a mishap that might have materially
atfected the sport of our company. Our keg of
powder broke loose from its lashings, and went
rolling down the mountains. As it disap])eared
from view, disappointment and chagrin was
visible on every countenance. The course it
had taken was marked l)y a trail through the
wild oats, with which the side of the mountain
was clad, as if a boa-constrictor had taken its
flight down the mountain. Taking the trail of
our fugitive casket, we found it on a bench of
the mountain five hundred yards distant, snugly
ensconced in a bunch of. fern. We halted at
Flat Ridge, and cooked dinner; then resumed
our march for the Buckeye Springs, eight miles
distant, where we designed going into perma-
nent (juarters. Crossing the east fork of the
Gualala and bearing toward the coast in the
region of • Point Arenas,' we arrived at Buck-
eye and pitched camp at four in the evening.
As late as the hour, we could not restrain our
impatience for the chase, and hurriedly unsad-
dling our horses, and turning them loose to
graze upon the lu.xuriant oats and clover with
which our camp was surrounded, we sallied
forth, some with rifles, others with shot-guns,
each intent mi some daring e.xploit; but our
zeal resulted in nothing, save that one of jiarty,
armed with a fowling-piece, was reconnoitering
a manzaneta grove for quail, when he suddeidy
found himself face to face with a hugh bear,
who was standing upon his hind legs quietlv
reconnoitering him ; but as his piece was charged
with quail shot, he did not deem it prudent to
get into an affray with him, and acting on the
principle that •' discretion was the better part
of valor," he made tracks for camp. His bear-
ship, notwithstanding his Heenan attitude, did
not appear to be pluck, for u])(in i-etu ruing to
the spot armed with rifles, it was discovered he
had ingloriously forsaken the field. (>urcam])
was on a ridge that formed the divide between
tlie east and west Gualala, and had been occu-
pied by some adventurous stockjnan, who had
erected and occupied a temporary shanty, but
finding it an unprofitable speculation, had
moved with his flocks to some other section ot
the countiy, leaving the ' liuekeye House ' as
a standing monument to his folly. We took
formal possession of the premises, and made the
house answer the doul)le purpose of dining
room and sleeping apartments, whilst a hollow
redvvood tree close by was converted into a
magazine. After the usual routine of camp
duty was dispatched, all hands were busy in
running balls, cleaning guns, and making all
needful preparations for the next day's sport.
One after another, after having put their rifles in
a condition, as they believed, to drive the center
at any given distance, joined the circle around
the camp fire, and the wreaths of smoke tliat
circling aloft from half a dozen pipes, assuming
EISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
all kinds of fantastic sliajjes, appeared to be the
signal for stories of adventure and hairbreadth
cscajjes. Our LTuide took the lead by recounting
iticideiits that had occurred in that region- of
two brothers out luinting. one shooting the
other's arm ott", mistaking him for a deer; of a
man hitciiing his mule close to the chaparal,
to hunt down a cafion, and retnrning was de-
ceived as to locality, and seeing his mule in tiie
brush shot him supposing him to be a grizzly
i>car: and several other incidents of like nature.
Another member of the company related an
instance of a hunter shooting a cow mistaking
her for a sijuinvl; but the palm was awarded to
our captain who relateil a circumstance of a
jiarty of hunters of Santa Clara, going to the
mountains to hunt bear, taking with them a
donkey to pack bear; but who returned in a
ehort time bringing with them the pack-saddle,
the bears having unceremoniously packed off
the donkey. The next day we scoured the
forests and delved into dark canons in i^uest of
^auie. AVe did not find deer as plenty as w'e
had anticipated, l)ut every member of our com-
pany managed to get a shot during the day, and
each maintained that he had hit his deer, but
owing to causes he could explain satisfactorily
to themselves, the stricken deer eluded their
grasji. Two of our company, however, more for-
tunate than the rest, brought in substantial
tokens of tlieir skill with the ritle. aixl that
night there was atlded to the liill of I'arc of the
I Buckeye House' roast \enison. venison stew,
venison steak and broiled venison. The reverber-
ations of our rifles through the mountains,
awaked the solitudes and rendered the game
weary. Deer had to be hunted from their lair
in the underbrush, and the bear scented danger
when afar off, and when seen were generally
out of range of rifle shot, and showing a dis-
position to avoid close ])ro.ximity to their new
neighbors. Two of our company, hunting to-
gether one day, however, were fortunate enough
to surprise a black bear when up a tir tree
lopping acorn's from an oak. whose branches
intei'locked the fir. A AmA from a small riHe
that carried a ball but a size larger than a buck-
shot, caused him to let all holds go and drop to
the earth, but did not prevent his flight.
Hunter number two, to use his own language,
'shot at the dust bruin kicked up,' but with
no other effect than to accelerate his speed
down the mountain.
"At the end of the week the > smoke house'
wc had extemporized was filled to overflowing
with snmked venison, and we decided to move
camji to ' iiear liidge,' eight miles distant,
hojiing there to gratify our penchant for bear
hunting, as we had already began to regard deer
as rather small game. We did not take our
departure from Buckeye without regret, and the
week we spent there will always be looked back
to by us as an oasis in life's desert. There is
much in that region well calculated to arouse
the enthusiasm of descriptive writers, but as we
have neitbei' space nor talent wc consign 'llie
task to some more facile pen. The most prom-
inent land-mark in that region is the ■ Uock
Pile,' three miles west of Buckeye, it being a
conical shaped mountain fornied of massi\e
rocks, and entirely destitute of vegetation. It
both serves as a guide to hunters, and stands
sentinel over a grave at its base, where rests an
unfortunate adventurer, who was murdered hy
an Indian two years since.
"On our arrival at Bear Kidge, wc found, a- at
Ibickeye, an untenanted cabin, of which we
took possession; but there was a history con
nected therewith that was recorded with the
crimson current of life upon the floor and rude
bed in the corner, that for a time cast a shadow
o\er our party. Our guide informed us that
al)out si.x months pi-evious two men not resi-
dents there, were luinting on the ridge — that
one was shot by the accidental xlischarge of his
rifle, the ball tearing ott" one of his hands and
entering his side. He was borne to the caliin
and a surireon sent for from Healdslmrg. lie
lingered thirty hours, and the surgeon arrived
just in time to see him breath his last. Beneath
the wide spread branches of a chestnut-oak. a
short distance from the cabin, he sleeps his last
niSTORT OF SONOMA COUNTY.
long sleep. Kemoviiig, as far as possilile, all
traces of the unfortunate sufferer, we occupied
tlie cabin four days. As yet, we had failed to
t-iglit a bear on i>ear Ridge, altliough we had
added the carcasses of several deer to our larder.
Our ease was becoming a desperate one, for we
had baked the last of our flour, and worse still.
our supply of tobacco was exhausted. It was
Saturday morning, and we debated tlie pro-
priety of subsisting upon meat alone for one day,
rather than enter Healdslturg on Sabbath even-
ing; but tobacco turned the scale, and it was
voted to pack up and start, when it was dis-
covered that one of our horses liad decamped
during the night. By means of a trail made by
a picket rope attached to the horse it was dis-
covered tiiat it had taken an opposite direction
from tiie trail by which we had entered, and
three of our party started in pursuit. After an
absence of two hours they returned, not only
having the good fortune to lind the horse, but
having shot a deer and also a large brown bear.
This streak of good luck was hailed with delight
by all, for it had not only enalded our company
to return with a bear skin as a trophy of the
chase, but quieted the nerves of individual
members who disliked to return to their ' lady-
loves' without the promised bottle of ' bar's
ile,' with which to anoint their raven or golden
locks, as the case might be. "We had achieved
the object of our party, — our success was equal
to our anticipations, and loaded down with
venison, we commenced our homeward iiiiiieh.
Before bidding a tinal adieu to I'ear liidge,
we wish to note the existence on that and
surrounding ridges of a species of timber we
had supposed did not exist in California, we
refer to the old-fashioned chestnut. The fruit
is not yet ripe, but the ground under some of
the trees is covered with !)urs that have been
detached by the wind and birds. Some of the
trees are two feet in diamater and remarkably
tall, which to our mind precludes the idea, as sug-
gested by some, of their being • chincapins.'
"We halted at Flat Ridge, and were laid under
lasting obligations to a resident stockman, who
shared with us his tobacco and flour. "We will
ever hold him in grateful remembrance, and
may his shadow never grow less. As we had
to make a forced march in order to reach
Ilealdsburg that night, we were in the saddle
bi-ight and early, and had soon surmounted a
ridge from which we had a last view of our
hunting grounds. Here our attention was
called to a large madrone tree, close to the trail,
npon which were carved various initials, wliich
were almost obliterated by the growth of the
tree; but high up and in legible characters, was
inscribed 1841. As we rode onward, we could
not but contrast the present California with the
California of 1841, and wonder if they who left
their record on the madrone tree have been
spared to witness the change. As we drew
near to Ilealdsburg the cravings of appetite
increased our desire to patronize ' mine host '
of the Sotoyome; but again we were doomed to
disappointment in Ilealdsburg; for the Sotoy
ome and many other buildings had crumbleil
before that ruthless element that has prostrated
so many of California's fair villages; and so
complete had been our isolation, that a week
had elapsed since it was destroyed, and yet we
had no intimation of the occurrence until we
entei'ed the village. In the absence of a hotel,
we resorted to a restaurant, and if the propri-
etor made a profit on that meal, we are inclined
to believe he will get rich, for seven hungrier
men never entered that burg. We returned to
Petaluma after an absence of sixteen days, feel-
ing refreshed and rejuvenated by our camp life.
In conclusion we will say to those afllicted with
the dyspepsia, or any other fashionable disease,
try Buckeye Camp two weeks, and if it does not
effect a cure, why then prepare, for your end
draweth nigh."
Such was the experiences of the writer
twenty-eight years ago in the regions described;
and yet, long after he has passed away the sharp
report of the sportsman's rifle will ring through
those same forests, for those dark canons and chap-
arral covered mountanis will ever aft'ord a safe
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
r;j,jp , JH^rJ,-',J^,^';3;:jPrJ^r^r>.-'l -'r J r J |-lrJr J?»?Ji ,
m
CHAPTER XIII.
iMMIi.KATiii.N I'olKS I.NTn SiiNnMA ColNTV KVKKV \(H)I< AM) COKNKK OK TMK COINTY UCI ITIED
THK (ML.Mln- DKIWIIKN I'ETAr.U>[A AND l>Ol)E(;A KKl IIKII. ilK I'dTATuKS, liAKI.KV, WHEAT AM)
DAIS Santa Rosa and Rissian Rivkk Valleys i-uodijc the he wheat axd ( ok.n — ihe yeak
1864 — LAM) TKOUIiLES — THE Boi)E<;A WAR THE II KA LI )Sllli IK, W Ali Th E MuLDUEW SlIAUoW
THE Miranda <;i;axt -the T'o-ioRtjuEs (iHANT.
rf>TP to 1855 SoiioHiii roiiiity was in a coiuli-
:*l}'jl tion of confused transition from almost
^5P^ iiiitivo wilds to permanent civilized occn-
]);unjy. AVliili' the county was largely covered
hy y|)aiiisli yrants. yet the holders of such, as a
class, had not yet accjuired flocks and herds to
occupv their broad acres, and the adventurous
Americans very often located within the lines
of such grants with as little reverence as though
settling upon government land. The grant
holders, as a class, had little idea of land value,
and many of them were willing to accept from
settlers on their domain very moderate prices
for the laud. Many, if not most of the settlers,
got their land at prices not much above what
they Would have had to pay had it been go^ern-
inent land. There were c.vccptions, however, to
tills rule, and in a few instances there was con-
sideral)lc friction and trouble between settlers
and grant owners, but this will be referred to
later on.
.Vbout 1855 a tidal-wave of immigration seemed
to sweep over yonoma County, and it was really
a marvel how soon every nook and corner of the
county available for farming or grazino; was
ferretted out and occupied. It was now families
seeking homes who came, and following their
coming school-houses and churches began to
multiply. In truth, within the space of a few
years, Sonoma County became one of the most
I prosperous agricultural counties of the State.
At first, famous for her Bodega potatoes, she
I soon took first rank among the graiii-growini,''
and dairying counties in the State.
In tlie space of a few years towns and villages
came foi-ward with marvelous growth. J'eta-
luma as a shipping point made rapid strides.
Santa Rosa as the county seat was making siib-
\ stantial progress. Ilealdsburg, where in 185-1
! had been but a residence and blacksmith shop,
I became a thriving village, and Cloverdale began
to show evidence of its future destiny. Sonoma,
; ever famous as a center around wiiich clustered
historic memories, became far-famed for her
productive veneyards. l^odega, old in her de-
velopment there in connection with Russian
occupation, took a new lease of life, and Hoilega
Bay was whitened by a fleet of sails that carried
her products to the San Francisco market.
lUoomtield surrtuinded by as fei'tile a country as
the sun ever sone upon became the center of a
populous and pros|)erous farming district.
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
In tlmse days the fatness was exuding from
tlic !-t-iil of Sunoina County, and tlie crops
gathered tlierefroin were abundant to the full
measure. While the growing of potatoes coast-
wise, e(_immencing with Two Rock Valley and
extending to iJodega was yet a large industry,
the irrowing of wheat, barley and oats soon
took precedence and became a source of great
profit to farmers. Farming of whatever kind,
whether the growing of potatoes or cereals was
usually conducted on a large scale. Fifty or a
hundred acres of jiotatoes was not considered a
large plant, and of grain it was no uncommon
thing for a farmer to plant any where from one
to three hundred acres, and a large farmer often
went far beyond this. Our favorable sea-
sons for seeding and planting of such vast
crops was made easy by the improvements in
farming imj)lemeuts, but the gathering of such
vast crops often taxed to its utmost capacity the
labor attainable. For potato digging, the rem-
nant of the almost extinct Intlian tribes of this
region were brought into re(juisitioti, and be-
came quite effective aids in farming. The
writer once had in employ twenty-two Russian
River Indians, and found them excellent potato
diggers. During the season tif gathering
potatoes these dusky childi-en of nature used to
perform a large portion of that kind of labor.
But the vices of civilization was fast thinning
their ranks, and in the course of years Chinese
labor stepped in and did the main portion of the
drudgeries ot farm work.
The main valleys through the center of the
county, Petaluma. Santa Rosa and Russian
River were always devoted maiiily to the grow-
ing of grain. The wealth- of grain produced
by the virgin soil of these rich valleys is almost
incalculable. Russian River Valley in a very
early day jiroved its worth as a corn producing
region, and in later years became famous for
the ])roduction of hops. A writer some years
ago drew the following pen picture of the Rus-
sian River Valley:
" For more than sixty miles in length Russian
River before taking its tinal westerly course to-
ward the ocean, perambulates from Mendocino
County southerly through one of the widest
and truly alluvial valleys in the State. As a
corn growing country it is probably without a
rival on the J'acitic coast, and a good corn
country can always be relied upon as suitable
for a large share of the staple products of tem-
perate climes.
•'We see, therefore, along this great alhnial
belt, the whole family of cereals cultivated with
singular success, and in the main cjuite free
from smut, or injury from climatic influence.
As far as any attemj)ts have been made to grow
fruit, it succeeds admirably. Along the bor-
ders of the \ alley, at the foot of the range of hills
that bound it on either side, the vine flourishes
luxuriantly, i)roducing grapes of fair size and a
flavor of peculiar richness; and we cannot but
believe that the time is near at hand when the
acres of vineyards aloug this great valley may
be counted by hundreds, if not thousands.
What the effect of climate may be upon the
health of vines and fruit trees along the more
central [iortions of the valley, remains to be
seen. Of the indigenous forest trees, the decid-
uous oak predominates largely; and throughout
nearly the entire extent of the valley may be
seen this monarch of our lowland forests, in its
wide-spreading, but varied and beautiful forms,
standing apart and alone, or clustered in beauti-
ful groups of a score or more upon a single
•acre; and though at this season of the year
without a single leat, all are draped in their
beautiful pale green, mossy livery, that, pendu-
lous from every twig and limli, imparts a mel-
lowed softness to the breeze, that alike in
summer and winter gently sweeps along the
valley."
Taking the decade-aiid-a-half between 1855
and 1870, farming in Sonoma County achieved
its greatest results. Of course, there were
variableness of seasons and prices, but taken as
a whole the results were more tlian highly satis-
factory. In the single season of 18B4 the
farmers literally gathered a harvest of gold.
That yea)' the whole southern portion of Cali-
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
tbrnia was made barren by a drought. Here
tlie crops were good, and wheat was sold at all
the way from three to four iiiul-a-half cents pur
liouiid. Even renters, who had [)ut in large
crops on shares, found themselves coniparatively
rich at the end ot" the season.
The productiveness of our farms and the ac-
cumulatinir wealth from dairy products and
Ntock-raising were promotive of other industries
and created in the people a desire for advance
from the primitive surroundings that had
marked their early-life struggles. Ornate coun-
ti'y homes began to multiply, and the county
from end to end began to show the evidences of
])ermanency and solidity. This was not con-
fined to the large valleys along the line of lead-
ing tlioroughfares; in every little gem of a
valley, sandwiched in among the hills and moun-
tains, there was manifested a growing taste in
the direction of more comfort and convenience
in home surroundings.
This advancement was made in the lace and
teeth of ditticulties and discouragements seldom
encountered by the pioneer settlers of any other
country. As lias already been stated, many of
the settlers went upon lands claimed as Spanish
grants, hut of which the titles had not yet been
adjudicated by the United States Government.
In the early fifties a commission, consisting of
three members, had been appointed to investi-
gate these titles, and otdy such as passed mus-
ter under their examination got standing in
court, and were started on the tortuous way to
the court of final resort at Washington City.
The ijcnnineness of title to niany of these yrants
\\eri; nf very fishy odor. Cnder the treaty of
(Tuadalupe Hidalgo the United States Govern-
ment had plighted its faith to give due credence
to all genuine grants made by duly accredited
authority of the Mexican go\ernment. This
the government certainly did to the full measure.
Elsewhere is published a list of the Spanish
grants that in whole, or in ]iar% fell within the
lines of Sonoma County. We have also j)ointed
out the evidences of pwmaneiit habitation witiiin
the boundai'ies(jf the county at the time Sonoma
was captui'etl. It was for the courts, and nut
the histoi'ian, to j)ass upon the validity of these
giants. Jf there was wholesale perjury in-
dulged in to secure many confirmations, that is
now a matter between the consciences of wit-
nesses and their (4od. It is now all happily
passed, and all land titles are in perfect I'ejiose.
All now buw to the rule. Stare (lecisi-<.
I!ut it is the province of history to recite
events the outgrowth of these confiicting lanil
titles. There were numerous "Settlers' Leagues"
organized to resist the confirmation of many of
these grants. Lawyers were always to be found
who would, for a liberal fee, give "squatters"
on grants positive assurance that the grant was
fraudulent and that he could " knock the bottom
out of it." These leagues, in many instances,
became secret conclaves, with all the pass-words
aifd paraphenalia of secret oi-ganizations. That
they should ultimate in resistance to legally
constituted authorities was but natural. And
even the claimants of grants sometimes were
guilty of the assumption that they were higher
than the law. While there had been a great
deal of friction between settlers and grant hohl-
ers the first serious collision occurred at Bodega.
There was no end of land troubles in Sonoma
County, growing out of occupation by settlers
on what was believed to be fraudulent Sj)anisli
grants. This led to a great deal of trouble, and
ultimately to resistance to the mandates of law.
To give the reader a clear conception of the real
temper and feeling of the public at that time on
this momentous (question we give the language
of an editorial which appeared in the I'etaliima
Journal of ]''ebruary 18, IHSH:
"It is boldly asserted tliat there are eighty
land grants in this State, which can be proved
to have been forged and sworn thus far through
the courts by perjury. They lie it is stated, in
twenty-seven counties, and cover the homes of
nearly 5,000 settlers. AVhether there are any
located in this county, we are not informed. It
would be a strange transaction if there are not.
Our location, and the wull-known i-ichno^s of
soil, would certainly be a >trong bait t" tempt
132
HIliTOnT OF SONOMA COUNTY.
the palate of the greedy land cormorants wlio
have perpetrated these wholesale frauds. It
therefore becomes all well-ineaiiiiig and right-
thinking citizens to join wit!) their brethren of
San Francisco, in the work of ferreting ont and
exposing these fraudulent grants. To this end
let every person remonstrate against the j)assage.
by the Assembly, of tlie iniquitous and unjust
resolution which was spawned by Senator Will-
iams, petitioning Congress for the passage of a
law to prevent reviews in cases wliere patents
have issued; or in other words asking of Con-
gress to screen the actual robber, and protect
the receiver of stolen property under the name
of ' bona tide purcliasers and encumbrancers.'
Where, we ask, can a parallel be found to this
act? Rob and defraud Uncle Sam of the public
domain and then ask him to desist from investi-
gation, the object of which is to prove the theft;
and all because the receiver of stolen goods may
lie a sufferer I As infamous as are the inten-
tions of Mr. Williams' move, we nevertheless
see the Senate passing favorably upon it. If we
mistake not, our own representative in that body
was among its supporter. A knowledge of the
unscrupulous intentions of these landgrabbers'
has clearly disclosed to settlers the precipice
over which they are being rutldessly hurried.
A just and proper spirit of resistance to the
attempt is beginning to manifest itself in vari-
ous sections. Meetings are being lield, reso-
lutions of disproval of Mr. Williams' ' substi-
tute ' passed, and Anti-Grant Leagues formed.
If moderation and temperance of action pre-
dominate, as we trust will be the case, immense
good will result to the people at large. The
recent developments in the Santillan claim, is
conclusive evidence of this fact. Let a union of
action be made and time and investigation will
rend the screen that now obscures and darkens
the homes of scores of the people of California.
We shall look with confidence to our representa-
ti\es in the Assembl)', to aid in arresting the
passage of the resolution by that body."
In continuance of the same subject the -Jvur-
«'^? of Februarv 25, 1859, said:
"Bv reference to another column, it will be
seen that the people in this locality are begin-
ning to move in the work of exposing the alleged
land frauds, and of heading General Williams
and Judge lialdwin in their infamous attempt
to rob and despoil the people of California. In
the eagerness of these pliant tools of Liinantour,
I'reinont, etc., to do the bidding of their heart-
less and unscrupulous masters, they have moved
in so bold and hasty a manner as to neglect that
precaution so necessary to successful villainy —
the covering up and secreting of all evidence of
evil intent. The object sought is too obvious
to pass unnoticed by the most obtuse. As a
natural conse(|uence, this course on the part of
the land claimants, has aroused a just and pro-
per spirit of opposition on the part of the people.
The final result of this struggle, will, we believe,
be the securing to the public domain of leagues
upon leagues of land now claimed by land
sharpers under forged titles. That many of
these fraudulent claims are located on this side
of the bay, we are told there no longer e.xists a
doubt. Justice then demands that our people
move with a united effort in exposing these
frauds.
"A brief reference to the land-claim history of
California, presents some startling facts. In the
year 1849 William Cary Jones was sent to Cali-
fornia by the authorities at Washington, with
instructions to ascertain the number and extent
of Spanish land grants. In his report he states
the result of his investigation to be the dis-
covery of five hundred and seventy-six grants,
large and small, several of which was unfinished.
Of this number, several were afterward proved
fraudulent and rejected. Upon the establish-
ment of the land commission, no less than eight
hundred and thirteen claims were filed in before
it for action ! A writer in the Alta., asserts
that Mr. Jones informed him that after he had
returned to Washington, he was offered *20,000
to insert in his rejiort one grant — fraudulent of
course, and for which they wished a record in
order to give it some show of validity I Com-
ment is unnecessary. The facts alone tell the
HIbTOBT OP SONOMA COUNTY.
133
whole story, and bid our (iitizens to be up and
doing."
The tii'st of these coiitliets over land titles
tiiat assuuietl a very tlirealeiiiiig aspect was in
June of 1859, and the scene of the disturl>ance
was Hodega ranch. The foiiovving in a state-
ment of the case and what occurred as touiid in
tiie Sonoma County Jonriinl of June 3d, 185'J:
IIIE lioDKOA WAl:.
"The original grantee of tliis ranch was Caj)-
tain Stephen Smith, who claimed by grant
eight leagues of land, which amount was con-
firmed to him In' the Hoard of Land Commis-
sioners. He tlien leased to Uethuel Phelps &
Co. the right to cut and manufacture into lum-
ber tlie red-wood belonging to the said eight
leagues of land, for a term of ninety-nine years,
for the sum of $65,000. Phelps & Co., imme-
diately took possession of the lands so leased,
and still continue in possession of the same.
After setting apart to I'helps & Co. their leased
portion of the claim, there was left a large tract
of agricultural lands outside of said eight
leagues, claimed l)y no one. which was then set-
tled upon and divided up into (piarter sections.
Thus matters stood at the death of Captain
Smith. We would here state, that various sur-
veys have lieen made from time to time by dif-
fererit parties and among them one by Clement
Co.\, United States Deputy Surveyor, in accord-
ance with which the grant was finally patente<l.
Some time after the death of Captain Smith.
Mr. Curtis married the widow of Captain Smith,
and became administrator of the estate and
guardian of the minor heirs, thus becoming a
party interested in the dispute.
'• Some three months since, Mr. Tyler Curtis,
on beiialf of himself and the heirs of Captain S.
Smith, obtained judgment on a writ of eject-
ment (by default) against forty-eiglit of the
settlers on the Bodega ranch. Tlie writ of
ejectment and restitution recpiired the sheritt' to
dispossess the settlers, and keep possession for
ei.xty days. ( )n Tuesday evening the sheriff,
nnaccomj)'inie<l by any one, went to Bodega
intending to execute the writ on Wednesday
morning.
"On Tuesday evening Mr. Curtis, accom-
panied by Mr. Nuttman, of San Francisco, and
forty-eight men, arrived here and immediately
took passage in coaches ft)r Bodega, where they
arrived at live o'clock on Wednesday morning.
The citizens of Petaluma, being ignorant of all
the })roceedings in the case were at a loss to
know the why and the wherefore of this great
influx of armed men; and, failing to get satis-
factory replies to their interrogatories, furtiier
than that the j)arty were bound for Jiodega,
were at once led to suppose that the crowd had
been brought here for the purpose of taking for-
cible possession of Bodega ranch. By nine
o'clock in the evening the e.xcitement ran high,
and about twenty men, armed and accoutred,
started for the scene of action, arousing all the
settlers as they passed along, who at once joined
them, to render aid to their brethren, if found
necessary. A messenger had been promptly
dispatched to Bodega to inform the settlers on
that ranch of what was going on. lie reached
there at midnight, and found them entirely
ignorant of the movements of Mr. Curtis and
his satelites. So rapid and prompt were their
movements that by the time Curtis' ' fighting
men' had arrived some eighty or ninety set-
tlers had collected, which number, by nine
o'clock, A. M., was augmented to 250 or 300.
"Early in the morning, it being ascertained
that the sheriff had arrived tlie evening pre-
vious, a conimittee waited upon him to ascer-
tain the object of his visit. lie stated that he
came there to discharge his duty as an officer,
which was, to put Mr. Curtis in possession of
his property; lie denied having anything to do
with the forty-eight men brought there by
Curtis, or even having any knowledge of their
coming; and promised as soon as l)reakfast was
over to go where the settlers were assembled
and see them. This he did. A committee of
ten was appointed ti) confer with him. which
resulted in a stay of all proceedings for two
hours, giving Sheriff ( ireen time to confer with
HrSTiiRr OF SONOMA COUNTY.
Mr. Curtis, and convey to liini the wishes and
will of the assemblage. Before the expiration
of the two hours the sheriti' returned without
any (Satisfactory answer, so far as Mr. Curtis
was concerned; but for himself, declining to do
anything in the matter, believing that the inju-
dicious course pursued by Mr. Curtis, absolved
him from the necessity of attempting to carry
out liis instructions at that time.
" ,\ committee of the citizens was then ap-
pointed to wait on Mr. Curtis, whose instruc-
tions were to inform him that tiiey considered
he had committed a gross outrage upon the citi-
zens of this county, and the settlers in particu-
lar, in having brought there, from a neighboring
town, an armed body of citizens, in violation of
law and good order, and for purposes which
could not be recognized or tolerated; and to de-
mand their immediate return to the place from
whence they came. To this peremptory demand
Mr. Curtis demurred, believii^g, as he said, that
tlie citizens were misinformed, and were unnec-
essarily excited, and acting from a mistaken
sense of duty; and that if they, the committee,
would guarantee him protection from insult, he
and I\[r. Nuttman would accompany them to
the place of meeting, and explain the cause and
motive of their procedure. Tiiey accordingly
accompanied the committee and made an ex-
planation, Mr. Curtis alleging that in employing
these men, he did so with no intention of otter-
ing an indignity or insult to the citizens of this
county, but merely for the purpose of aiding
himself in retaining possession of property
which he thought to be justly his by the de-
cisions of the legal tribunals of his country,
when Sheriff Green, in the discharge of his duty,
siiould give him such possession; and not for
the purpose of taking forcible possession, or
doing any overt act; and that he was willing to
meet the settlers at any time and compromise
all matters at variance, and lease them the lands
on which they reside, at one-half the price for
which lands on other ranches are leased. Mr.
Muttinan then repudiated all connectiim with
the 'lighting-men," and stated tiiat his visit to
the county was for no particular or special
object.
"The demand for the removal of the armed
forces was again made to Mr. Curtis, with a re-
fusal to treat on any subject, until after their
return. xVfter a few minutes conference with
the sheriff, and one or two others, Mr. Curtis
consented to their return, he paying the ex-
penses of their transjiortation from there to »San
Francisco. This ended the matter, so far as he
was concerned. Wagons were then procured,
and the 'deceived braves" and their two boxes
of i/ovemment rifles (previously shipped from
San Francisco, and directed to Tyler Curtis,
Bodega), together with their ammunition and
thirty days' outfit, started for Petaluma, accom-
panied by one hundred or more of the settlers,
where they arrived a little after dark, and were
received by the firing of cannon and the liveliest
demonstrations of joy at the happy and peaceful
result of the injudicious and uncalled for move-
ment. On Thursday morning they took their
departure from this city for San Francisco,
where it is to be hoped they will safely arrive,
wiser, if not better men. In justice to the
party we would state that those of them with
whom we conversed, said that they were de-
ceived in regard to the object of their mission —
they believing it to be one of peace not war.
During their sojourn liere their deportment was
gentlemanly throughout."
THK UKALIiSIUHG WAR.
In 1862 the difficulties growing out tif sijuat-
ter settlement on the Sotoyome Rancho, near
Healdsburg, culminated in a resistance of the
county authorities l)y the settlers. J. M. Bowles,
yet a respected citizen of Petaluma, was their
sheriff. Resistance was made to writs of eject-
ment placed in his hands. The Petaluma An/us
of July 19, 18(52, said editorially:
'■Governor Stanford having declined tu inter-
pose the gubernatorial authority until it had
been made apparent that our county authorities
are uueipial to the task of enforcing the laws,
Slieritf Uowles has summoned fi posse eiDuitctux
IITSTOnY op l<OKOMA COVNTY
of about 300, wlio are notified to report tliem-
selves, 'armed and equipped as the law directs,'
at Healdslmrcr (yesterday I Tuesday, tlie IJtli
inst. As ominous as this nntbrtnnate dithcnlty
may seem to persons abroad, we do not appre-
liend tliat any very serious consequences will, at
present, result therefrom; but it is one of those
peculiar cases, so common in California, which
may, unless remedied l)y wholesome and just
legislation, eventuate in scenes of anarchy, de-
structive alike to the moral and industrial well-
being of the inhabitants of our fair State."
The result of this actiou of Sherift' Bowles is
thus graphically described by the Healdsburg
correspondent of the Ari/i/s under date of July
15th:
'•At 9 o'clock this morning. Deputy Sheriff
Latapie mounted a stump in front of the Sotoy-
ome Hotel and called the names of several
hundred men; when about two hundred and
fifty answered to their names -pei'haps one-half
of the whole number summoned. Sheriff Bowles
then explained the nature of liusiness, inform-
ing them that seven writs of restitution and
ejectment were to be served on the settlei's —
Scaggs. Rice, Miller, and others. The jwsse
was notified to be readj' to march to the scene
of action in fifteen minutes — and much to the
disgust of the crowd, they were ordered to pro-
ceed on foot; which was not very agreeable as
the sun was pouring down in tropical style —
the thermometer standing at ninety-two in the
shade.
"x\t about half-past ten o'clock the sheriff took
his jiofixr ti> the place occupied by Mr. Rice's
family, about one mile northwest of Healdsburg.
We arrived at Rice's at 11 o'clock, where we
found about fifty resolute settlers insi<le of tlie
yard fence, well armed and apparently deter-
mined not to allow us to proceed further in that
direction. We advanced holdly up to said
fence — it being understood that the settlers
were not to shoot until we crossed the line,
which no one seemed inclined to do — when Mr.
L. D. Latimer read some kind of a document —
probably the 'riot act' — we were not able to
hear a word from our position. Sheriff Bowles
then read some papers, which we were also un-
able to hear — supposed to be the order of the
court. The sheriff then commanded \\\s 2)osse
to assist him in the execution of his writs —
2X)s-se mum — backward movement perceptible
— settlers cocked their guns — leaders addressed
them — another backward movement on the part
of posse, explained on the ground that the atmos-
phere was purer under the oak trees. Sheriff
again demanded possession of the premises —
most of hisj^w*«6' seated themselves on logs and
the grass under the oaks. Considerable parley-
ing between sheriff and settlers — when it beinff
apparent to everybody that nothing could be
done without the effusion of blood, the sheriff
wisely dismissed his posse. Cheer upon cheer
went up from the crowd — both j[«>ss<? and settlers
joining in it heartily. The immense crowd then
started back to town, ap]>arently satisfied with
the day's woi'k.
"It was generally believed that from two to
four hundred armed settlers were in the imme-
diate vicinity of the house during the time —
though not more than fifty were to be seen. A
friend informed me that he saw a large number
of armed men in a ravine back of the house
about one hundred and fifty yards off.
"Not one of the men composing the posse
carried a gun, and but few of them had small
arms.
"The greatest order prevailed — not a drunken
or disorderly man to be seen. Mr. (leo. Hran-
stradder received a severe cut under the arm by
falling from a stumj) and coming in contact
with a jiicket fence. No other accident."! hap-
pened."
The sheriff with his ^w^wc having failed to
vindicate the law. the strong arm of the State
was invoked as a denier resort. AVhat steps
were taken is thus stated editorially in the
Ar(/ns of the 24th of September:
"The public mind is again being agitated bv
the settlers' ditficulties in the nfigliburluio<i of
Healdsburg. In compliance witii the re(iuisi-
tion of Sheriff Bowles, (iovernor Stanford
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
ordered out the two military eouipanies of this
city, the Petahiina Guards and JMninet (iuards,
to enforce the writ of ejectment against IMilier,
liice, Scatfgs and others. The two companies
aliove nameil. under tlie respective command of
Captain 1". B. Hewlett and Captain T. F. Baylis,
took up their line of march from this city for
the scene of ditiiculty on Monday last. By a
gentleman who came down on the Ilealdsburg
stage yesterday, we learn that the military were
at A[ark West Creek. The same gentleman
also informed us that he conversed, just hefore
leavino- Ilealdsburg, with several of the settlers,
and they avowed their determination to resist the
force sent against them. We sincerely trust
they will think better of it, and listen to the
dictates of cool judgment. The late decision
of the courts, in favor of Bailhache, has done
away with the pretext on which they predicted
their right to resist the sherif!"'s^w.w<^. We ask
our fellow citizens to retiect what serious conse-
(piences the resisting of military might lead to.
If in this instance law is set at defiance, there
is a combustible element in ('aliforiiia which
would accept it as a license for guerrilla warfare.
We cannot, however, believe that our neighbors
of Ilealdsburg will be guilty of lighting the
torch of civil war in our midst."
The Aiqux oi Ocioher 1st gives the following
account of tlie termination of this vexed land
trouble:
"On Monday morning last the military com-
panies which were ordered by the Governor to as-
sist Sheritf Bowles in enforcing writs of ejectment
against settlers near Healdsburg, returned to
this city having faithfully discharged the duty
for which they were ordered out. The majesty
of the law has been asserted and maintained,
and the serious consequences which it was
feared might result therefrom have been averted.
Our citizen soldiers, with their etticient otJicers,
deserve much credit for the decided and yet
humane manner in which they discharged the
unpleasant task assigned them. Those families
that have had to relinquish homes that cost
them years of toil, are now the subject of
sympathy, and should be encouraged and assisted
in their endeavors to find new and more ]>erma-
nent homes. Let the difficulties just past be
remembered only to guai'd against the recur-
rence of like scenes in the future."
SgUATTEKS ON TUK (;EKM.\N (iRANT.
In 1801 there were about eighteen settlers
who located on the (German grant, on the coast
bordei-ing on the (iualala Kiver and extending
southward toward Fort Ross. The claimant was
William Beihler, and being a foreigner, he
commenced suit of ejectment in the United
States District Court. The writer, then a
United States Deputy Marshal, had occasion to
serve papers on those squatters in 1861 and
knows how " sultry " they threatened to make
it for Beihler if he over dared to " materialize
in that neck of woods." Beihler got his ranch,
notwithstanding, but he has seldom visited it.
The grant has now largely passed into other
hands.
Tin: Mrr.nuKW shadow.
By reference to the last chapter on Russian
occupation at Fort Ross it will be seen that
reference is made to a bill of sale given to Cap-
tain John A. Sutter, ])urporting to convey to
him Bussian title to laud. Tiiis title was
a source of considerable trouble to Sonoma
County settlers along about 1S60-'1. One Col-
onel Muldrew turned up then with that title
and created quite a panic. The Joiirtnil of Alay
11, 1860 said:
"The Sutter, or Aluldrew claim, lying be-
tween Cape Mendocino and Cape Drake, or
Punta Reyes, and about which considerable in-
terest is at present manifest by the people of
this section, covers about two hundred and
eighty leagues of land, and embraces within its
bounds, in addition to a large area of public
domain, several confirmed Spanish grants. As
most of our readers are aware, this is tlie so-
called Russian American Fur Company's claim;
but we suggest that the territory should here-
after be known as the "Muldrew Principality.
UtaTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY
Onr reason for this is. that the Colonel claims
that the Russian Fur Company held and exer-
cised exclusive control of the territory during
a certain number of years (about thirty-three,
we think), and then transferred their rights,
privileges and immunities to Captain J. A.
Sutter, who in turn sold to the present claimant,
he, Muldrew, should of right now be entitled
to exercise all the rights and privileges, l)oth civil
and political, which belonged to the said original
claimants. Let the claim then be known as the
'Muldrew Principality, and let its rightful
]triiice assert and exercise his authority! True,
Uncle Sam may not relish the thing much, but
how is he to help himself? It was Mexican
territory alone that he conquered, and not that
of the Russian Fur Company ! What right
then has he to complain, though this principal-
ity does lay 'adjacent to,' and is surrounded by
his potato patch? ' Hy the law of nations" [ior
the interpretation of which, and in further
proof of the soundness of our arguments, we
refer the reader to the articles in the Argus,
over the signature of' Veritas,' which we think
cannot fail to convince all as their author is
known to be no less a person than the valiant
Colonel Zabriskie, Colonel Muldrew's legal ad-
viser and expounder), the Russians acquired
sovereignty over it, and by the right of pur-
chase, Colonel Muldrew is now the legitimate
prince and ruler; but, like the ' Nephew of his
Uncle,' we ojiine he will tind Jordan a hard
road to travel, ere he is permitted to grasp the
golden scepter of this
' Kiiiiiilom liy the sea.'"
Colonel Muldrew began to force his claim to
this vast estate with much vigor. He had as
his attorney Colonel .1. C. Zaliriskie, who as
author of the " Laiul Laws of California" was
recognized as a lawyer of much ability. Several
settlers' meetings were held in Big \'alley, at
which Colonel Zabriskie was present and ex-
plained the nature of the title upon which his
client set up a claim to lands, much ot which
had already been purchased by the settlers from
grantees holding under Mexican title. Most of
the settlers failed to see the potency of the ar-
guments used and Hatly refused to give any
countenance to the Muldrew claims. Some,
however, seem to have been fearful that his
claim was something more than a mere shadow,
and we have been informed that Mr. Rennitz of
the Fort Ross grant was $6,000 poorer on ac-
count of his credulity. Be this as it may, the
Muldrew title reached a final disposition in a
decision rendered by Judge ISIcKiiistry in Octo-
ber of 1860, which was as follows:
•'Curtis vs. Svtfer, et al. — This is a motion
to dismiss the bill npon the pleadings. I grant
the motion, assuming that all the facts stated
in the complaint are true. The complainant does
not content himself with stating that the de-
fendants set up some claim or demands to his
lands, but specitically decribes their alleged
title from the Russian Fur Company to the de-
fendant, Sutter. Admitting that the averment
that the other defendants 'claim under Sntter,'
as sufficient allegation that they have receiveil
deeds from Sutter, still the • Russian Fur C'oin-
pany ' is not a legitimate source of title. If an
action of ejectment were Ijrought by defeiulants
against a party in possession upon the deeds
named., as referred to in the bill, those deeds
could not constitute a color of title; the defend-
ant in possession would not be required to in-
troduce any testimony to impeach or rebut the
deeds. Hence, upon the authority of Ctiiiin cs.
Sntter, et al., and Pi.vleij rs. irii(/f//ns, 1 am of
opinion that no preliminary injunction should
have been issued in the present case, and that
the injunction already issued ought not now to
be made final or jierpetuaj. And since the only
other remedy sought by the bill oi- whicli I'Luild
be obtained after a feigned issue, had been de-
cided in favor of j)laintit} is, that the deeds of
defendants be canceled, which is not iMily a
more effective remedy tlian an injunction, it
a])](ears to me that if the Supivme Couit lia\e
decided that no injunction should issue, they
have also decideil that no decree ol cancelfitioii
should be rendered.
" Atfaiii, this bill does not show bv anv definite
138
HISTORY OP SONOMA COUNTY.
description of what portion of the rancho the
plaintitf is in the actual possession. It admits
tliat large portions of it are held adversely by
persons not yiarties to this suit. This is not a
case wliere any <locti'ine of constructive posses-
sion can apply, nor does it follow that because
in order to remove a cloud from a portion of
which the plaintiff is in possession, it is neces-
sary to examine the validity of the title to the
whole Bodega Rancho — therefore, the court will
interfere to remove a cloud from that of which
third parties are in possession. Such examina-
tion into the validity of the liodega title is in
no degree binding upon those third parties hold-
ing adversely. l!eing in possession they must
be considered (until a judgment in a direct pro-
ceeding against them) as tlie actual owners of
the land they occupy. The pnr])ose of such a
bill of peace is to remove a cloud from the title
which threatens to disturb the quiet and peace-
able possession of a plaintiff in the actual oc-
cupancy of land, and since i*^ is inijiossible to
ascertain from this bill that the ]iresent plaintiff
is in the actual occupancy of any particular foot
of land, the cause must be dismissed.
'> K. ^V. Ml KiNSTRY,
" District Judge."
This decision seems to have effectually and
forever, laid the ISIuldrew title to land acquired
through Finssian occupancy at Foil Ross.
TUK AKUOVO UK SAN AN'ni.N'lu.
This grant was a source of much disijiiict and
unrest to settlers. Originally there were two
claimants before the board of land commission-
ers, Ortega and Miranda. Ortega had l>een a
Mexican sicklier, and married the daughter of
Miranda. He claimed to have received a grant
of the Arroyo de San Antonio, and placed his
father-in-law, Miranda, in occupancy thereof
On account of domestic infelicity Ortega went
to Oregon and was there when gold was discov-
ered in California. In the meantime Miranda
seems to have received a grant for the same land
on the ground of abandonment by Ortega. The
two titles passed into the hands respectively of
James F. Stnart and Thomas I>. Valentine.
They were both laid before the land commis-
sioners, but ultimately Valentine witlxlrew his
claim, alleging as a reason that he was satisHed
that the Miranda claim was without good foun-
dation. Stuart litigated the Ortega claim to
the highest tribunal in the land, and it was re-
jected. The land was then declared subject to
entry as go\ernmeut land. The outside lands
were so entei'cd, and the lands embraced within
the city of Petaluma were entered in lots under
what is known as the "town site bill." Now
it was that Valentine went to Congress and
sought the passage of a special bill to restore
the Miranda grant to a hearing in court, claim-
ing that he had discovered new evidence which
showed the genuiness of that grant. For sev-
eral years the settlers on the land and residents
of Petaluma combatted and defeated every at-
tempt to have the case reopened. Finally a
compromise was made whei'eby Valentine agreed
that if he made his title to the Arroyo de San
Antonio grant he would accept " lien scrip "
from the government for the same, and not at-
tempt to disturb the title of settlers organized
through government to lands embraced in that
grant. The years had run their course and in
1873 this compromise was reached. In the
Petaluma Argvs of December 19, 1878. we find
the following in relation thereto:
•' The cloud that has hovered over the lands
on which the city of Petaluma is situated is
foi tiinately fast dispelling. The history of the
various struggles for title that have involved the
settlers here would form a voluminous book, and
the inconvenience, dread, uncertainty and possi-
ble insecurity of our title have in no small de-
gree retarded our growth and prosperity as a
city. The time seems to have arrived at last
when perfect security of title can be claimed,
without possibility of being overwhelmed or
being alarmed at some further period by a
'trumped up claim." The 'Ortega' has been
killed by the Supreme Court, and the ' Miranda'
will soon be tfoatel off on the public domain, no
more to annoy or irritate people. Then, with
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNT Y.
ITncIe Sam's title in our pockets, Me can say,
' These are onr lands; this is onr heritage; here
we will hnild onr homes and fonnd a city that
will rank first among the mnnicipalities of the
State.'
"Below will lie found jnililislied entire the
the decree issned in the C!irciiit Court for San
Francisco, confirming the Miranda claim hut
snhjecting the claimant to the proviso of the
act of Congress, which says he ' may select, and
shall be allowed patents for an equal quantity
of unoccupied and unappropriated public lands
fif the United States ' elsewhere.
" Following is the decree which is in sub-
stance the same as urged ujkju the court by the
(Tnited States District Attorney Lattimer:
" ' In this case, on hearing the proofs and
allegations, it is ordered, adjudged and decreed
that the said claim of the petitioners is valid,
and that the same be and hereby is confirmed;
but this decree and confirmation are hereby
made subject to the restrictions and limitations
prescribed in the act of (!ongress entitled, ' An
act for the Ilelief of Thomas 15. A^alentine,
approved June 5, 1872.
"'The land of which confirmation is made is
the same which was granted by Manuel Mich-
eltorena, in the name of the Mexican Govern-
ment to Juan Miranda, on the 8th day of
( )ctol)er, 1844, and on which he resided in his
life-time, and is known by the name of the
Kanclio Arroyo de San Antonio, and bounded
by the Lagnna and Arroyo of the same name,
and the pass and Estredo of retaluma, and is
in extent three square leagues, if that quantity
is to be found within the exterior boundaries,
and no more; and, if a less quantity is included
in said boundaries, then said lesser (piantity is
confirmeJ.
" JjOEE.N/.o Sawyer,
" Circuit .Intlge.' "
in January of 1S74 the following editorial
relating to the Miranda grant appeared in the
I'etaluina Argvs, and was conclusive of nil
further trouble alwut Valentine's claim :
•■When there is a shadow upon the title to
oiir homes there is always an uneasiness tliat
periodically breaks into downright fear, and
oftentimes panic. There seems to be no secu-
rity. \Vc build elegant residences and beautify
our grounds, but so long as there is a question
to the title of our lands, there is a lurking fear
always that some day in our lifetime or of our
children, the lands may be wrested from us, and
we would have our ' trouble for onr pains."
Again, in event of a desire to sell our realty,
the shadow comes up, and our property is depre-
ciated thereby. And this has been the case
with Petaluma from the very day of its settle-
ment. First we had the Ortega and Miranda
grants to fight. As if to double teams against
the settlers the Miranda claimant withdrew
from the United States Commission upon a
compromise and helped to fight the battle for the
Ortega claim, which, after passing the Ctnnmis-
sion, was adjudged a fraud by the Supreme
Court. The Government then issued its pat-
ents to the land claimed by the grant, and our
people with Uncle Sam's title in their pockets,
felt comparatively secure. But the trouble had
not yet ceased. T. B. Valentine, the claimant
under the Miranda saw that he had made a mis-
take in his alliance with the Ortega, rushed to
Washington and endeavored, by an act of C'on-
gress, to get his claim reopened and before the
courts. Here was trouble and vexation again.
The Miranda claim was believed by many to be
valid, while others took the countrary view.
Whoever was right recent events go to show
that it would have been a dangerous experiment
had the bill l)een passed as it was first inti'o-
dnced. Through the influence of onr represen-
tatives, however, the bill was beaten. This ditl
not seem to satisfy the claimant. At nearly
every successive ('ongress he was on hainl with
a bill for his relief. Finally to put tlie matter
forever at rest, a bill passed Congress allowing
him to jiresent his claim to the courts, and in
the event that he should ])rove the validity of
his title he was to execute a deed to the lands
claimed under the grant, and in lieu thereof
take a corresponding amount of public lands
140
HISTORV OF SONOMA COUNTY.
wlierever lie might find tliein ami elect. The
suit was accordingly coniinenced in the Circuit
(^oiirt in San Francisco, and npon trial a decree
was issued to tiie piaintitl', when it was taken
on appeal to tiie Supreme Court of tlie I'liited
States for tiiuU adjudication. Many rumors
have been rife that Mr. Valentine, haviiiii- ijot
into court and proven liis claim, was not neces-
sarily compelled by tlie terms of the act to take
lien lands, hut might, upon the atHrmance of
liis case at Washington, come ujion and dispos-
sess the settlers here. A good deal of talk has
been made, and a great deal of fear endured by
our people over these complications.
'• Finally, however, like all our worldly
troubles this vexed and complicated question
has been finally settled by Mr. Valentine giving
a deed to government through our energetic
and faithful Senator, Mr. Sargent, as the follow-
ing dispatches will explain:
" •WASuiNtiToN, Jan. 5. — Senator Sargent has
received from T. B. Valentine, of San Fran-
cisco, to be held in trust, a deed in favoi- of the
United States, executed by \'alentine and wife,
conveying the Miranda grant, in Sonoma
( bounty; the deed to be delivered to the t'om-
missioners of the (leneral Land Office on affirm-
ance by the Supreme Court of the judgment
recently rendered in Valentine's favor by the
Circuit Court of California in an action autlior-
ized by Congress. The deed conveys to the
United States all of A^alentine's interest in said
grant, and Valentine by the law of last session,
is to receive land scrip to the same extent on un-
occupied puldic land. This quiets title in favor
of purchasers from the Government on thegrant.'
"'W.\suiNuT()N,Jan.7. — The United Slates Su-
preme (Jourthavingconfirmed the decision of the
Circuit Court upholding the validity of the
Miranda grant, its mandate to that effect was
sent to California to-day, and the deed executed
by Valentine conveying all his i-ight and title
to the United States in trust for the settlers,
was delivered to the Commissioner of the (len-
eral Land Office this afternoon. This action
perfects tlie settlers' title to all lands covered by
the grant, including the town of Pctaluma. and
puts an end to all litigation ai\d further uneasi-
ness in the matter.'
" AV^e may state also in this connection that
i>ur fellow-townsman, lion, (ieorge Pearce, met
Mr. A'alentine on the streets of San Francisco
on Wednesday, when Valentine tul<l him per-
sonally that he had executed and delivered the
deed, thereby confirming the above dispatches.
All hail to our homes, which are now withuut a
cloud of uncertainty."
L.\i:i;.\A UK SAN ANTdNld.
This land, as will be seen by reference to the
chapter on grants, was conceded to I'artolenius
Bojorques, and embraced over 24,000 acres of
land. Nearly half of this lay in Sonoma
County, embracing the fertile Two Rock Valley.
There never was any conflict over the confirma-
tion of that grant. It passed to final confirma
tion without let or hindrance. IJojorques %vas
quite old when the Americans began to come
in and settle on his grant, lie had eight sons
and daughters, all grown up and married. To
each of these he executed a deetl of one-ninth of
his grant, reserving to himself a ninth. There
was no partition, bnt father and children alike
had an undivided ninth of the vast estate. Each
sold land to the settlers as opportunity offered,
and at prices nierely nominal. Bnt few of the
settlers took the precaution to get other than
the signature of the party from whom they
purchased to their deed. When the grant was
all absorbed by such loose-jointed titles, the out-
come was inevitable. Some had barely title
enongh to cover their holdings — some had moie
than enough, and others had not a shadow of
title. In the early sixties a suit was commenced
for partition, and over two hundreil, persons
were parties to the suit. Most of the settlers
banded themselves together in what was called
the " Bojorques League" and maile common
cAuse for an adjustment of title. The suit
jilayed shuttle-cock back and forth thiough the
courts for a sjiace of over twenty years. It was
one of the most tangled skeins of land title tver
HISTORY OP SONOMA COUNTY.
141
adjudicated by the California courts. It finally
lendered a conclusion very recently, and may
he ranked among the things of the past —
although the " Bojorques League" still has an
organized existence.
In dismissing the subject of Spanish grants
it is in ])lace to say that of all those vast estates,
there is now only one in the county, the "Cotato
grant,"' that remains unbroken, the balance
liaving all been subdivided and sold to settlers.
Of the original owners of these grants there are
but few who are now even moderately well otl';
and very many are in really straitened circum-
stances. The manner in which these vast prop-
erties were dissipated shows how evanescent
anti Heeting is what the world calls wealth.
iirsronr of sonoma county.
^-:i2^^^ai!s^!^)!;i^2!<M^:!i:>^^
^R^gfiSi
SKky^gMMBBE
\ GEOLOGY, MINERALOGY AND FOSSILS. \
, ^^•V^^^V^^^x^<^v.A'^A^•v•^?F^.^A.^•^^A^•^,v^s=g;^Y:
VWW'l'VAl XIY.
HasAI.T RimK ASlJK-ilV
I ACTMNS.
-CHROMIC IRON OINN'AliAR SILI'MIR < ol'IM'.R —FOSSIL , KKMAIN?
fi 1 1'^i late Dr. AV. W. Oarpenter, wlio was a
student of science, speaking of tliis soc-
•^- tion of California said:
•'The county of Sononialias never Iteen honored
with a jjeological survey. It is jn-etty evenly
divided lietween xalley and niountiiin. The
valleys having formerlv heen suhinertfcd with
the waters of the ocean, were left upon their
sulisidenee with a soil of adohe, hut have since
received a coat of sedimentary deposit of allu-
vium. The soil of the eastern part of Sonoma
Valley rests upon a hard-pan of secondary for-
mation. The sandy loaua comprisinu; the coun-
try lying hetween Petaluma and the coast is
modern alluvium. The redwood forests adjacent
to tlie coast, helong to the second epodi of the
tertiary period — the miocene of ]V[r. Lyell. The
soil of the Russian River A' alley largely foi-med
through glacial inHnence, helongs to the sec-
onilary period. The mountains are volcanic.
Trap, or basalt is tlie leading rock, although
]iorphyry, sienite, granite, slate, ami especially
carbonate, or magnesian limestone are found.
The mountain range of basalt dividing the i'et-
aluma and Sonoma valleys was poured out ot
the crater of St. Helena and rolling onward, u
mighty river of molten lava, couletl and hanl-
ened where we now find it. The streets of San
Francisco are largely paved with this i-ock. In
quarrying it small caverns are levealed most
beautifully lined, ami crystalized with carbonate
of lime. Notwithstanding that Sonoma is
classed as an agricultural county, its mineral re-
sources are varied, and in the near future will
be a source of great profit.
•'('<)(//, of not by any means a superior (jiiality,
has been found near the surface on Sonoma
l\[ountain not more than five miles from IVt-
aluma. Practical exjierieuce has upset many
scientific theories. Science taught that the
native deposit of gold was exclusively in quart/..
The miner reveals some of the richest leads in
slate rock. Science formerly taught that the
coal deposit was exclusively in the carboniferous
formation. The same autliority now teaches
that it may be found in any geological strata.
It is true that all the coal thus far found be-
longs to the tertiary, or secondary formation —
lignite or brown coal — yet competent observers
ai'e sanguine in the belief that when sutiicient
depth shall have heen reached coal of good
quality and in i-easonal)le abundance will be
tbund.
•> J^'trnleum, a sister product, is also known
to exist in this county. It is a question whether
oil wells will ever prove as productive in Cali-
I'ornia as they are in Pennsylvania, for the reason
that the horizontal wheels of the palaeozoic age
confines the oil beneath the surface in the latter
State, while the tertiary rocks of California,
HTSTORT OF SONOMA COUNTY.
143
turned up ^m edge, allow it to lie forced to the
surface by liydrostatic pressure, and capillary
attraction, and thus wasted. Hence larj^c quan-
tities of oil on the surface is an unfavorable in-
dication for well-boring.
•' It is for tills reason, and not because oil in
quantities does not exLst, that the oil business has
not a promising out-look on the Pacific coast.
'' ^«ic'^'.<.;7/'c/'. - Quicksilver, j)rincipally in
the form of cinnaliar, e.xists in this county in
large quantities. During the (juicksilver ex-
citement of four or five years ago many rich
deposits were developed, and worked until the
in)mense (quantities of the article found in every
section of the State reduced its price below the
cost of extraction, which necessarily compelled
a discontinuance of operations.
"The composition of ciimabar being 81|
grains of (piicksilver and 19.^ grains of sul|ihur
to the hundred, implies the existence of an
abundance of the latter article also in the county.
When (quicksilver exists where there is no sul-
phur it must needs be in its native form. In
the Rattlesnake mine, above Cloverdale, is the
only place that it is found in this county, other-
wise than in the form of cinnabar. In that
mine the pure glolniles ai-e interspersed thi-ough
soft tulcose rock.
" Boriw. -Borate of soda has been found, liut
not in paying quantities.
"'Kaolin. -This article is found in this
county, but kaolin being decomposed feldspar,
and the pure atmosphere of California not pos-
sessing the power of decomposing and disin-
tegrating that article from its native rocks like
the murky air of England, the (juantity is cor-
respondingly small. So rapidly does the atmos-
phere of England decompose feldspar, that
granite, or sienite, exposed to the air. bec(;mes
honey-coinbed in a few years. The reader is
aware that fine porcelain ware is made of finely
))ulverized (juartz crystals, kaolin, and the ashes
of ferns — the fern ashes containing enough
alkali, in the form of bicarbonate of potassa to
produce the requisite effervescent action, in
union with the silisic acid of the (piartz. to dc-
velope the beautiful finish of that elegant ware.
The kaolin for the immense quantity of porce-
lain ware manufactured in England is gathered
in Cornwall, where it is decomposed and disin-
tegrated from the granite quarries.
" Hod ami YMoio Cinher (terrd ih xleitJia),
as well as other ochreous coloring earths of a
sn|)crior quality, and in great abundance, are
found in this county. No better material for
paints exist upon the earth.
^^ Petrifactlonx are found in this county
and, in fact, everywhere on the coast — under
circumstances which upset the accepted theory
that petrifaction can (inh/ occur by saturating
the wood in thcriiiHl waters. Petrifaction takes
place on the surface of the earth — necessarily
beyond the reach or intiuence of thermal waters.
The large amount nf silex in the soil mav
account for this in some instances, as there arc
many cases in which an excess of that element
causes wood to petrify instead of carbonize,
even in the carboniferous formation. Still the
proposition holds that petrifactions are found
under circumstances which would seem to im-
ply that atmospheric conditions mu^L have
something to do with their transfornialion.
" Afi/entlferoii,^ (jalena exists in the northern
part of the county, and in the near future will
become a paying industry.
^•Copper. — Some rich deposits of c(qiper--
jirincipally in the form of red oxide — have also
been discovei-ed in the northern section of the
county.
" I nni — Iron is found nearly everywhere, but
the UKist valuable yet unearthed are the chromic
iron oi'es in the mountains near ('lo\erdale.
where the rock formation is mainly st^rpentine.
Some of these ores have been in the process of
extraction for several years with profit to the
owners. .\ small amount of hematite ii'on \\a»
found near Santa Ilosa. Magnetic and Titanic
iron is found in more or less abundance as is
usual in all volcanic rocks.
•• I'ixolltex, OolUcx, and Oh.sidiiui aw among
the pi-odncts found in attestation of the volcanic
period.
144
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
" Boiling i<pruiiis exist in several localities,
the most noted, and reniarkableof whicli are the
geysers. These springs are among the most
wonderful and magnificent displays of nature in
the world. Notwithstanding that the springs
are located within close pro.ximity of each other,
the chemical properties differ much. We have
not at hand a chemical analysis of these waters,
init chloritle of sodium (table salt), borate of
sodium (borax), carbonate of sodium, sulpluu'i
iron, and sulphate of sodium predominate.
There is a trace of silica in all of them we
believe. LittoTi springs and Mark West are
well known places of resort for pleasure-seekers
and invalids.
"Imperfect skeletons of several mastotlonshave
been found protruding from the l)ank8 of I'eta-
luma (Jreek, a short distance above the town of
I'etaluma, where the floods had exposed them
to view; and one tusk found — and now in a cabi-
net in the latter city — is ten inches in length.
They were perhaps mired down while seeking
water. Their discovery was merely accidental,
paleontological research never having leceived
any more attention in the county than its
kindred sciences.
Blo(Hhtone ami aytttc are the only valualile
varieties of the quartz family, so far as we know,
that have been found in this county.
Suljihate of lime (gypsum) is found, but in
comparatively small (juantities to that of the
carbonate, or magnesian lime."
As the ijuarries of basalt ])aving blocks in the
neighborhood of i'etaluma, 8anta llosa and
Sonoma have become one of Sonoma County's
profital)le industries, the following from the
Sonoma County Jonriud of September 25, 1857,
is of interest:
>' On the summit of a hill some threc-tjuarters
of a mile to the south of I'etaluma, a very sing-
ular ledge of rocks has recently been discovered
by some persons engaged in (juarrying stone for
building purposes. The singular structure and
wonderful uniformity that prevails throughout
the ledge, is the feature that renders it pecu-
liarly interesting to the curious. It is well cal-
culated to impress the mind with the idea of its
being the work of art.
"The ledge is composed of regular prismatic
columns, inclined but a few degrees from the
perpendicular toward the center of the hill.
The columns generally have five sides, but we
observed some that had but four. They are
usually about twenty inches in thickness, and
are divided into blocks varying from one to four
feet in length, which are so closely joined and
so firmly cemented together that it is (juiteditH-
cult to separate them. The columns are bound
to each other by a layer of grayish colored
cement, about an inch in thickness. The rock
is very hard, and of a dark color, and belongs to
that class of rocks denominated basalt by ge-
ologists. The whole ledge presents the appear-
ance of a solid structure of masonry, reared, like
the Jigyptian pyramids, to perpetuate the works
and memory of man, in defiance of the flight of
ages. So abundant, indeed, are the appearances
of design, that we are not surprised that many
persons have unhesitatingly pronounced it the
work of art. There is abundant evidence, how-
ever, tharf; precludes the possibility of such being
the case. This columnar structure of rocks is
not unfrequent. It is seen along the margin of
Snake River, and in the passage of the Columbia
River through the Cascade Mountains, perpen-
dicular walls of this columnar structure are
often seen rising to the height of forty or fifty
feet. The basaltic columns of Lake Superior,
Fingal's Cave, in the island of Staft'a, and the
Giant's Causeway in the north of Ireland, are
all examples of similar columnar structure.
Geologists also speak of its occurring quite fre-
quently west of the Ilocky Mountains. We are
too incredulous to look upon this singular struc-
ture as other than the work of the Divine Arclii
tect, and as such it presents a wide range for
human thought and study.
'' The discovery of this ledge of rocks so near
town, is particularly fortunate for Petaluma.
The rocks arc easily quarried aiul brought to
town, but the greatest advantage of all is their
thorough adaptability to the construction of fire-
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
proof Iniildings neither tire nor water affecting
them in the least. We saw a cliip from one of
the rocks subjected to fire until it became heated
to a bright red color, after which it wa.s im-
mediately thrown into cold water. No chantje
whatever from its original appearance could be
perceived."
In March of 18H8 there was considerable ex-
citement ill I'etaluma conseijuent upon the un-
earthing at the head of I'etaluma Creek of the
fosi^il remains of some animal of large propor-
tioii^i. In reference to these bones h corres])ond-
ent of the Ar<jni< under date of March 12th says:
"To the question, ' AVhat is ItV when ap-
plied to the jawbone which has excited so much
curiosity, the following answer is submitted:
"It is assumed that the bone in question is
unmistakably a lower jawbone, and from thennm-
ber and conformation of the teeth, it is not the
jaw of a hippopotamus, for that animal has six
grinders on each side of both jaws, also fonr
incisors above and below, and a canine tooth on
each side, above and below. Again, it cannot
be the jaw of a rhinoceros, for that has seven
grinders on each side of both jaws, and from
two to four incisors in each jaw. The number
of grinders in this jaw, the pairs of conical pro-
jections on the same, the entire absence of in-
cisors and canine teeth, together with the length
(22 inches) of the shinbone exhibited, induces
the writer to believe that it belongs to a narrow-
toothed mastodon (mastodon angustidens).
The dimensions of these grinders, seven inches
in breadth by three inches in thickness, answer
to the name. The word mastodon is derived
from two (Treek words, meaning conical-shape
and tooth. There were two species of mastodons,
namely: the great mastodon ( M. giganteus) and
the narrow-toothed mastodon. The last s])ecies
\\a> one-third less in size than the great masto-
don, and much lower on the legs. It was not
unlike the elephant, being furnished with a
trunk and two huge tusks, and fed upon the
rank vegetation of the early world. Thi> was,
probably, a juvenile of about seven years, its
age lioing determined from the number of pairs
of conical jioints found on the molar teeth,
while his height is estimated to have been only
about eight feet, the estimation being based up-
on the supposition that the large bone e.xhibited
last week was a shinbone. The imperfections
of that bone render its identity somewhat difh-
cult, still its superior articulations and triangu-
lar shaft, lead to the belief that it is a tibia.
"It is hoped that other discoveries will soon be
made that will throw more light upon this in-
teresting problem."
In the Petahiuia Anjus of Feljruary 25,1869,
ajipears this mention of fossil bones:
"On Thursday last Messrs. Dickey and (-Jil
more discovered the skeleti.m of a mastodon on
Petaluma Creek about two miles north of tlii^
city. Portions of a tusk projected from the
bank where the late storm had washed the dirt
away. They (jomnienced excavating and have
removed the dirt from the head which i.- nf
enormous size. The tusk measures twenty-two
inches in circumference, and the width of the
skull is nearly three feet. It is well worth the
investigation of scientific men. It will be re-
membered that about a year ago |)ortions of
undoubtedly the same skeleton were washed out
at the same locality, and that we published an
account of the same. Discoveries of fossil re-
mains have become so common in CaliforniH,
that they liave almost ceased to excite comment,
save in scientific circles."'
Again referring to the unearthing of fossil
remains, the A/yiis of March 4, 1869, says:
"Last week we mentioned the fact of the
discovery of portions of a gigantic skeleton in
the bank of Petaluma Creek. From Mr. S. li.
Dickey, one of the discoverers, w'e receive
further particulars. We have also received let-
ters from several scientific gentlemen requesting
information on the subject, which we cheerfully
give. These bones cannot be a part of those
found last s])ring, being found fifty yards further
up the stream, imbedded eight feet deep in
coarse gravel. They are undoubtedly horns, the
ii|)per part of the head being found with them.
The ilimensioiis are: From the lower part of
146
HISTORY OP SONOMA COUNTY.
the clieek Ikhic to the tip ot' the liurii,
8 feet; eaxity nl the liraiii. iJ I'eet, making
I'.t I'oet from ti|i to tip of the horns, which
measuri'd ~2 ineiies at tlie base. One only was
t'ounii. hut a eavitv in tlie earth corresponding
in size plainly showed the former existence of
another. Two feet ot the point was solid, also
8 inches of the base; the balance crumbled to
pieces on exposure. There were two teeth on
each jaw measuring 11 inches in lentjth, and 3^
inches in width. They are solid in the jaw, of
a darkish color, but resembling ivory in sub-
stance. The cheek bones are solid, 18 inches in
length. The lnu-iis shot outward from the head,
curving to the >ide until within about 18 inches
of the point, where they turned forward, the
point being a little in front of the head as if
for a means of defense. An outside shell simi-
lar to that upon the horn of the common cow
covered the horn. If the rest of the skeleton
bore a proportio'iiate size to the head and horns,
the animal was indeed a monster.
The fossil remains found near Tetaluma was
the subject of discussion by the California
Academy of Natural Sciences. What those
scientists thought on the subject, as well as the
opinion of the I'etaluma editor, appeared in the
Petahnna Aiyns of Api-il 1, ISi;',), aud is as
follows :
"At a lecent meeting of the Califoi'uia Acad-
emy of Natural Sciences, at ISan Francisco, the
subject of the recent discovery of the remains
of the gigantic animal at Petaluma was brought
up. Mr. Yale said he had been corresponding
with the -discoverer of the skeleton of the
mastodon lately found near I'etaluma; the
bones he understood were being i-enioved, and
the Academy ought to take some step toward
preserving the remains. The head had been
entirely carried away, and other )iorti<uis dis-
turbed. Mr. Carlton remarked that the aninial
was said to have been horned, but that which
was taken for horns was more probably tusks.
Dr. Cooper said the creature w'as either an ele-
phant or a mastodon, aud probably the tusk had
been taken for horns. Mr. Yale said that a
similar discovery had been made last year in
the vicinity of SaJi Jose. Dr. Cooper stated that
Mr. llotimau. a membei' of the society, had ex-
amined the remains of one of these animals
which had been discovered in the valley of Saii
Jose, and that upon its being exposed it cruuj-
bled to pieces."
The Ar(jui< said: •' As to the question whether
the bones found \\:ei'e tusks or horns, we are de-
cidedly of the oj)iniou that they are horns, as
they grew from the top of the head, curving
horizontally, for some distance, when they
turned to the front as if for a means of defense.
Mr. Dickey drew for us a diagram of the head,
showing the position of the root of the horns,
which was the same as in ordinary cattle. Had
they been tusks they would have grown from
another portion of the head."
The Ar(ju8 of a still later date said : " So-
noma and adjacent counties ajjpear to be a j)er-
fect mine of interesting curiosities in the shape
of petrifaction belonging to both the animal and
vegetable kingdom. What is the most re-
markable in relation thereto is the fact that
these relics of liygone ages are often found in
the alluvial deposits so near the surface of
the earth as to frequently be revealed by the
plow. We have before us a petrifaction re-
cently plowed up on the ranch of Patrick J.,aw-
lor on the Sonoma Mountains, four or five
miles from this city, and at an altitude of
several huiulred feet ai)ove the valley or tide
level. The specimen is the head and neck {vs
fei/iorls) of the fumur or thigh Iione of a
mastadon or some other mammoth animal be-
longing to the pre-historic period. It is a com-
plete petrifaction nearly six inches in diameter
across the crown and alioiit seven inches from
apex of crown to base. It is virtually the head
(os feinor'n<\ with not more than two or three
inches of the neck remaining. Looking at its
crown it has very much the resemblance of the
somewhat round skull of a nearly grown person.
It weighs eight pounds. We have seen several
specimens of large bones found in tliis vicinity
but this is the most perfect petrifaction of the
HI STOUT OF SONOMA COUNTY.
kind that has come under our notice. As this
was found so near the surface we doubt not that
witli but little labor other bones belonging to
tiie same monster animal of which this is a part,
can be found.''
One of the wondrous freaks of Nature in this
country and one which is well worth a visit by
every one who cares for such sights, is the ])et-
ritied forest of Sonoma. Away back in some
pre-historic age, Mount St. Helena was an act-
ive volcano and threw out vast bodies of scoria
from its heart of living tire. Some of this scoria
fell upon a forest of large trees and in this mass
as if cast in a mold we have great bodies of
vegetable matter while retaining their shape and
fibre turned in lapse of ages into stone. These
trees of stone lie in two tiers in a parallelogram
a mile in extent from east to west and about a
quarter of a mile from north to south, the roots
of these prostrate trees being toward the north.
They lie at an angle of from live to thirty-live
degrees, the butts being on the lower ground.
When discovered they were almost covered with
volcanic ashes or tnta, and the ground sparkled
with atoms of silica. IMucli of llic brush has
been cleared awav and the loose superincum-
bent deposit removed principally liy Charles
Evans, "Petrified Charley," a Swede, who seeing
its value for exhibition purposes, enclosed the
ground in 1871, and charged a small fee to vis-
itors to requite him for his labor in excavating
around the trees. The largest tree thus ex-
cavated is eleven feet in diameter at the butt
and sixty-eight feet in length, but is broken
into several pieces. Much laljor has been spent
on the place in improvements until the thou.sands,
who have visited the place pronounced it not
only one of the great wonders of the world, but
"one of the prettiest places" in the hills of
California. The forest can be reached and ex-
amined in a day by taking the Santa Rosa and
Calistoga stage, it being only sixteen miles from
the former place. Visitors to the Geysers liy
the Cloverdale route, after they have exhausted
the curiosities of that wonderful region, with its
curious productions of one of Nature's under-
ground laboratories, can reach the petrilied
forest by taking the stage which runs between
the Geysers and Calistoga. No Eastern or
European tourist can truly say that he " has
done California" unless he has seen the petrified
forest.
HlsruRY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
CHAPTER XV.
Ranchos MrsALAcoN — CoTATE — GuiLicos — Canada ue Pogolome — Llaxo 1)E Santa Rosa — El
MOLINO HuiCHICA YuLPA GdENOC SOTOYOME BoDEGA BlLCHER CaLLAYOMI— MuNIZ
— Laguna de Sax Antonio — Aeeoyo de San Antonio — Senode Mai.comes — Roblar de la
MiSEKA — Canada de la Ioniva — Estero Ameeicano — Geeman — Petaluma — San Migvel
— TzABAfo — Caslamayome — Cabeza de Santa Rosa — Agca CALfi;NTi:.
tT will be of interest to future generations to
know what value the Mexican government
'■^ placed upon its public domain. When the
reader of the next century scans these grants as
listed below, and sees that these pioneer colon-
ists of California asked for, and got land by the
league, he will naturally conclude that the first
half of the nineteenth century must have been
a period of regal splendor here. But such was
not the fact. The people were land and stock
poor. They had but few of either the comforts
or conveniences of civilized life, and could not
stand the liglit of a higher civilization. Like
the Indians, they have passed on.
The United States, Appellants vs. Johnson
Hokrell, claiming the Rancho Musalacon. — ■
This was a claim for two leagues of land in
Sonoma County, situated in Cloverdale Town-
ship, confirmed by the Board of Commissioners
and appealed by the United States. The claim-
ants in this case produced the original grant
made by Governor Pio Pico to Francisco Ber-
ryesa on May 2. 1846. The record of the
approval of the Departmental Assembly was
dated June 3, 1846. No doubt is suggested as
to the genuineness of any of these documents.
The grantee appears within the year prescribed
by the grant to have entered into possession ut
his land and to have resided in a wooden house
built by him upon it. He also placed upon it
cattle, and commenced its cultivation. There
is no difficulty in identifying and locating the
lauds by means of the description in the grant
and the inaj) to which it refers, and which is
contained in the expedient. The commis-
sioners in their opinion on this case observe
" that although the title was executed hut a
short time before the American occupation, it
appears to have been made in good faith and with
due regard to the requirements of the law."
The decision of the board was attirmed and a de-
cree entered accordingly. On page 80 of the
appendix we find: "Johnson Horrell. etui.,
claimants for Rincon de Musalacon, two S(juare
leagues, in Mendocino and Sonoma counties,
granted May 2, 1846, by Pio Pico to Francisco
Berryesa, claim filed February 11, 1853, con-
firmed by the Commission December 12, 1854,
by the District Court, January 14, 1856, and
appeal dismissed April 2, 1857. containing
8,866.88 acres.
The United States, Appellants rs. Thuma-
S. Page, claiming the Rancho Votate. — This
claim which was for four leagues of land in
HJSTORT OF SOaoilA (JOUNTT.
Suiioiiia Cuunty situated partly in Vallejo and
partly in Santa Rosa townships, was cojilirmed
l>y tlie Board, and appealed by the United
States. Ill this case the original j^rant was not
produced, hut its existence and loss are proved
beyond all reasonalde doubt by the depositions
uf the witnesses and tiie pioduction of the expe-
diente from the archives containing the usual
documents, and also a certificate of approval
by the departmental assembly. The grant is
also mentioned in the index of grants by the
former government. j\o doubt was entertained
liy the commissioners as to the sutticiency of the
proofs on these points, nor is any objection
raised in the District Court in regard to them.
The evidence discloses a full compliance with
the conditions, and the description in the grant
and map determined its locality. No objection
is raised on the part of the appellants to the
confirmation of this claim, and on looking over
the transcript the court did not perceive any
reason to doubt its entire validity, I'age 48 of
the appeiuiix tells us: "Thomas S. Page,
claimant for Cotate, four s<piare leagues in
Sonoma County, granted July 7, 1844, by Man-
uel Micheltorena to Juan Castanida; claim filed
September 21, 1852, confirmed by the Commis-
sion August 27, 1854, by the District Court
January 14, 1856, and appeal dismissed March
21, 1857, containing 17.238.60 acres. Pat-
ented."
Thk Uniteo States, Appellant)! i»i. J lan
Wilson, claiming the liaiicho Guilico.s. —Claim
for a tract of land, supposed to contain four
leagues, in Sonoma County, situated in Santa
Rosa and Sonoma townships, confirmed by the
Hoard and appealed by the United States. The
claim in this case was confirmed by the Board.
iS'o doubt is suggested as to the authenticity of
the dociiniciitary evidence submitted, and the
only point upon winch a (piestion was made
was whether the grant anil map accompanying
it sutticiently indicate the granted laiui — there
being no designation of the quantity or nuni-
bef of leagues in the original grant. The grant
bears date November 13, 1839, l)ut was not
issued until the 20th. The signature of the
Governor to the original grant is fully proved,
and the expediente produced fnun the archives
containing the proceedings upon the petition,
the various orders of the Governor, and the
decree of approval by the Departmental Assem-
bly. The requirements of the regulations of
1828 seem to have been substantially complied
with, and the land cultivated and inhabited
within reasonable time. AVith regard to locat-
ing the ti'act, there seems to be no difficulty.
The grant describes it as the parcel of land
known by the name of " Guilicos,'' within the
boundaries shown in the map which accom-
panies tlie petition. On inspecting the map,
those boundaries appear to be indicated with
tolerable certainty, and it is presumed that by
means of it no practical difficulty will be found
by the surveyor in laying off to the claimant
his land. A decree of confirmation must there-
fore be entered. Page 5 of the appendix says:
"Juan Wilson, claimant for Guilicos, four
square leagues, in Sonoma County, granted
November 13, 1839, by Juan B. Alvaralo to
John Wilson; claim filed P'ebruary 10, 1852,
confirmed by the Commissioner Deceember 27,
1853, by the District Court March 3, 1856, and
appeal dismissed December 8, 1856, containing
18,833.86 acres. Patented."
j TuE United States, Appellants m. Antonia
j (Iazakes, claiviiiKj the Hancho Canada <1e Po-
I (jolome. — "Claim for two leagues of land situ-
: ated in Marin (and Sonoma] County, in Borlega
j and Analy townships, confirmed by the Boai'd,
and appealed by the United States."' It ap-
pears from the documentary evidence in thi.s
case that James Dawson, the deceased husband
of the present claimant, on December 27, 1837,
presented a petition to the commanding Gen-
eral, setting forth that he, together with Mc-
intosh and one James Black, had obtained a
grant for the place called " La Punta del Este-
rodel Americano;" that he had built a house
upon it, and planted a large vineyard and an
orchard with more than 200 fruit trees, and had
placed upon it cattle, horses, etc. He further
Hisroltr OF HOl^OMA COUNTY.
represented that the grant had been obtained in
partnership with the two persons mentioned, but
that Mcintosh was attempting to eject him.
lie, therefore, prayed that he might be protected
in his rights. The petitioner, though he had
long resided in the country, does not appear to
have been naturalized at the time of making
this petition, but the documents show that let-
ters of naturalization were obtained by him on
December 29, 1841. On September 18, 1843,
he renewed his application to be put in posses-
sion of the land, and the Governor, U> wliom
this second petition was addressed, referred it
to the Secretary for information. By the reports
of that officer it appears, that althougli tlie pe-
tition for the land had been in tlie name of the
three applicants, yet the grant had been made
to Mcintosh solely, as he alone possessed the
essential requisite of being a naturalized Me.xi-
can citizen. The Secretary, therefore, suggests
that, although the request of Dawson cannot be
granted, yet, inasmuch as he had since been
naturalized, and had married a Mexican woman,
his application for another piece of land should
be favorably considered. The Governor, in ac-
cordance with this suggestion, on October 21,
1843, ordered the proceedings to be returned to
the party interested for his information. It is
presumed that it was in this way that these
documents came into the parties' possession, and
are not now found among the archives. It does
not appear that Dawson petitioned for a grant
before liis death, which occurred very soon after;
but a grant is produced in which it is recited
that his widow, the present claimant, has
sufficiently proved the right of her deceased
husband to petition for the land which she then
occupied, and in consideration of the great
losses sustained by her husband on separating
himself from Mcintosh, and the favorable re-
ports, etc., the Governor grants to her the land
solicited, known by the name of • Canada de
Pogolome,' to the extent of two square leagues,
a little more or less. It is this land which is
now claimed by the appellee. This grant was
issued on February 12, 1844, and it appears to
have been approved by the Departmental As-
sembly on September 26, 1845. The genuine-
ness of the above documents is fully proved, and
it is also shown that the land was long occu-
pied by Dawson before his decease, and since
then by the present claimant. Although the
expediente for this grant is not among the
archives, yet, as observed by the commission-
ers, 'its notoriety, the long possession, and the
circumstances surrounding it, relieves it from
any suspicion of fraud or forgery.' The boun-
daries, as well as the extent of the land, are
specified in the grant, and indicated with evi-
dent precision on the map to which it refers.
We think, therefore, that the claim is valid and
ought to be confirmed."' Of this case, page 3,
of the appendix, says: " Antonia Cazares,
claimant for Canada de Pogolome, two square
leagues, in Marin and Sonoma Counties, granted
February 12, 1844, by Manuel Micheltorena to
Antonia Cazares; claim filed February 3, 1852,
confirmed by the commission April 11, 1853,
by the District Court, March 24, 1856, and ap-
peal dismissed December 8, 1856, containing
8,780.81 acres.'"
The United States, AppeUaiits vs. Joaquin
Carrillo, claiming the Raiicho Llano de Santa.
Rosa. — Claim for three leagues of land in So-
noma County (situated in Santa Rosa and
Analy Townships), confirmed by the board and
appealed by the United States. " It appears
from the expediente in this case that the claim-
ant, on June 22, 1843, petitioned Governor
Micheltorena for a grant of land on the plain
adjoining the rancho of his mother. The Gov-
ernor, however, suspended action on the subject,
as no judicial measurement had been made of
the adjoining ranchos, and the extent of the
sobrante or surplus reserved was not ascer-
tained." " On March 12, 1844, the claimant
applied to the district for permission to sow,
and build a house upon the laud, during the
pendency of his application to the Governor for
a grant. The Alcalde granted him leave to sow
the land, holding himself responsible to the
owners of the land if there should be any dam-
niSTORT OF SONOMA COUNTY.
151
age, but he refused him permission to build the
house. On March 26, 1844, the claimant re-
newed his application to the Governor, stating
tliat his petition still remained unacted upon on
account of tlie neglect of the colindantes or ad-
joining proprietors to have their lands meas-
ured according to law. The secretary to whom
this second petition was referred, reported favor-
ably to it, and advised a grant of not more than
three square leagues, subject to the measure-
ments of the adjoining proprietors. In accord-
ance with this report the grant now produced
was made; and it appears in evidence that he
built, first, a small house and afterward a very
large one on the land, on which he has contin-
ued ever since to reside. He has also cultivated
from 100 to 300 acres of it with corn, barley,
wheat, etc. The handwriting of the grant in
the possession of the party is fully proved, and
there seems no reason to doubt the entire
validity of this claim. The map and the desig-
nation in the grant of the colindantes or con-
teminous owners abundantly show the locality
of the tract granted; and the claimant's title to
the land solicited must be confirmed to the ex-
tent of three leagues, subject to the measui'e-
inents of the land previously granted to the
colindantes. The decision of the board must,
therefore, be affirmed." In reference to this
case we find, on page 35 of the appendix,
" .loaquin Carrillo, claimant for Llano de Santa
liosa, three square leagues in Sonoma County,
granted March 29, 1844, by Manuel Michelto-
rena to Marcus West; claim tiled May 31,
1852, contirmed by the commission ()ctol)er21,
1><53. by the District Court, March 24, 1850,
and appeal dismissed January 13, 1857, con-
taining 13,33ti.55 acres.''
Tmk U.mtki) i^T.vi-Ks,Ajj/H'//(//it.n,'\s. Jim.N B. li.
('ooPKK, rlaihiintj the Rancho El Molina. —
Claim four leagues of land in Sonoma County
(situated in Santa Rosa, Analy and Russian
River townships), contirmed by the board and
appealed by the United States. The claimant
in this case, a naturalized Mexican citizen, ob-
tuiiieii in December, 1833, a grant from the
Governor for the place called Rio Ayoska.
This grant was approved by the Departmental
Assembly, and certificate of its confirmation de-
livered to the grantee, as appears from the
testimony, and the expediente filed in the case.
" He subsequently appealed to the Governoi'
for an exchange of the land granted for that
now claimed by him. Rroceedings on this ap-
plication were commenced by Governor
Figueroa, and the new grant was made as
desired by the petitioner, by Governor Gutierrez,
on February 24, 1836. These facts are proved
by the testimony of Harnell and Yallejo, whose
evidence is corroborated by the expediente on
file in the archives. The genuineness of the
grant is fully established. Previously to ob-
taining the last grant, the claimant had gone
into possession of the tract solicited, and had
bnilt a house upon it. He also had, as early as
1834, placed a considerable number of cattle
upon it and had commenced the erection of a
mill, upon which he expended more than ten
thousand dollars. He also erected a blacksmith
shop, and for two years had employed upon his
rancho men to the average number of sixteen,
and sometimes thirty or forty Indians. It is
clear that the grantee fulfilled the conditions
and carried out the objects of the colonization
laws to an extent very unusual in the then con-
dition of the country. AVith regard to the
location of the land, it appears from the testi-
mony of O'Farrell and other witnesses who are
acquainted with the adjacent country, that there
is no difficulty in ascertaining its locality by
means of the diseou which accompanies the
grant. O'Farrell, who had long been a surveyor
under the Mexicans, testifies that he has, by
means of the grant and the diseon, made a sur-
vey of the land, and that it contains, as surveyed
by him, only the quantity specified in the grant.
The claim was held to be valid by the Moard.
No objections to it are suggested on the part of
the United States, aiul we are of opinion that
the decision of the board should be affirmed."
Page 27 of the appendix, in regard to this grant,
remarks: -'John 1!. R. Cooper claimant for El
152
ni8T0RT OF SONOMA COUNTY.
Molino or Rio Ayoska, ten and one-half square
leagues in Sonoma County, granted December
81, 1833, by Jose Figueroa, February 24, 1880,
by Nicholas Gutierrez, to J. IJ. R. Cooper;
claim filed April 20, 1852, confirmed by the
commission November 14, 1854, by the District
CJourt, March 24, 1866, and appeal dismissed
December 15, 1856, containing 17,892.42 acres.
Patented. "
Thk United "Atktyis, AppeUants vs. Jacob i'.
Lkese, ehimhig the Rancho IhileMca. — Claim
for live leagues of land in Sonoma County (sit-
uated in Sonoma Township), confirmed by the
Board and appealed by the United States.
"The claimant in this case obtained on October
21, 1841, a grant from Manuel Jiineno, acting
Governor of California, for two scjuai-e leagues
of land as designated on the map which accom-
panied his petition. Juridicia! possession was
given of the tract as delineated on the map, but
the extent of land measured to iiim largel}- ex-
ceeded the quantity mentioned in the grant.
He thereupon petitioned for an augmentation
and July (5, 1844, he obtaineil from (governor
Micheltorena an additi<inal grant for three and
one-half leagues, making in all five leagues and
a half The proofs show that as early as 1839
tlie land was occupied and u house built upon
it. The grantee also placed tiiere cattle and
horses, and cultivated about two hundred acres
of land. He has ever since continued to occupy
it. The authenticity of the grant is shown by
])ror)f (jf the genuineness of the signatures, and
the production of the expediente fnim the
archives of the former government. The claim
was confirmed by the Board and no objections
to it are suggested in this court. A decree of
confirmation must therefore be entered." We
find on piige 23 of the appendix the following:
"Jacob P. Leese, claimant for Huichaca, two
square leagues in Sonoma County, granted Octo-
26, 1841, by Manuel Jimeno, and July 6, 1844,
by Manuel Micheltorena, to J. P. Leese; claim
filed April 6, 1852, confirmed by the commis-
sion April 18, 1853, by the District Court,
April 22, 1856, and appeal dismissed Decem-
ber 24, 1856, containing 18,704.04 acres.
Patented."
Mariano G. A'ai.le.io, claiming the Rancho
Ynhipa i'.<i. THK Umtei) States. — Claim for
three leagues of land in Sonoma County, re-
jected by the Board, and appealed by the claim-
ant. "The claimant iu this case has produced
the original grant by Governor IVricheltorena to
Miguel Alvarado, dated November 23, 1844.
This grant was apjiroved \)y the Departmental
Assembly on February 18, 1845. The genuine
ness of the grant is fully proved, and the occupa-
tion of and the cultivation of a portion of the
land established by testimony. The claim was
rejected by the Board for the reason that the
tract granted was not segregated from the public
domain. The land is described in the grant as
known by the name of Yulupa, and bounded by
the ranchos of Petaluma, Cotate, Santa Rosa
and Los Guilicos. Jasper O'Farrell, who was a
government surveyor in 1847 and 1848, and as
such surveyed raiudios in the vicinity, states
that he knows tiie latter well, and that the
Rancho Yulupa is situated between them ; that
it is near tlie town of Sonoma, and can easily be
segregated from the adjoining ranchos. Julio
Carrillo testifies that he has known the lands of
Yulupa since 1838; and that it lies between the
ranchos of ' Petaluma,' ' (lotate,' ■ Santa Rosa,'
and ' Guilicos;' that it contains about three
leagues and is well known. Tiie witness further
states that Alvarado built a house on the land,
and occupied it with cattle and horses in 1843
or 1844. The evidence of these and other wit-
nesses whose testimony has been taken in this
court on appeal, sufticiently, in my (>])inion,
establishes the identity of the land granted to
Alvarado, and removes tiie only objection urged
to a confirmation of the claim. A decree ot
confirmation must therefore be entered. On
page 35 of the appendix it is recorded: " Mari-
ano Guadalupe Vallejo claimant for Yulupa,
three square leagues, in Sonoma Count}', granted
November 23, 1844, by Manuel ^[icheltorena to
Miguel Alvarado; claim filed May 31, 1.S52, re-
jected by the commission May 10, 1854 ; con-
1JI8T0RT OF SONOMA COUNTY.
153
firmed by the District Court January 21, 1857;
decree reversed liy the ITiiited States Supreme
Court and cause remanded for further evidence."
So far unfortunately do tliese cases go, we are,
therefore, constrained to proceed to what in-
formation can be gleaned out of the appendix,
from whicli tlie following are taken:
Archiljald A. Ritchie, claimant for Guenoea,
six square leagues, in Sonoma County, granted
May 8, 1845, by Pio Pico to George Kock;
claim filed January 27, 1852; confirmed by the
commission December IS, 1852, and appeal
dismissed December 15, 1856; containing 21,-
220.03 acres. Vide page 3, Appendix Hoff-
man's Reports, Vol. 1.
Josefa Carrillo Fitch et al., claimants for
Sotoyome, eight square leagues, in Sonoma and
Mendocino counties (situated in Mendocino and
Russian River townships), granted September
28, 1841, by Manuel Micheltorena to Henry D.
Fitch; claim filed February 2, 1852, confirmed
by the commission April 18, 1853, and appeal
dismissed November 17, 1857; containing 48,-
836.51 acres. Patented. Vide page 3, Ap-
pendix Hoffman's Reports, Vol. 1.
Stephen Smith and Maiiuela T. Curtis,
claimants for Bodega, eight square leagues in
Sonoma County (situated in I'odega and Ocean
townships), granted September 14, 1844, by
Manuel Micheltorena to Stephen Smith; claim
filed February 9, 1852, confirmed by the com-
mission P'ebruary 21, 1853, by the District
Court July 5, 1855, and appeal dismissed April
5, 1857; containing 35,787.53 acres. Patented.
\'ide jiage 4, App. Hofi'inan's Reports, Vol. 1.
Ste])hen Smith, claimant for lUucher, six
square leagues in Sonoma C'ounty (situated in
Analy Township), granted October 14, 1844, by
Manuel Micheltorena to Juan Vioget; claim
filed February 9, 1852; confirmed by the com-
mission ( )ctober 31, 1854, by the District Court
January 21), 1857, and a])peal dismissed Novem-
ber 24, 1856; containing 22,976.66 acres. Vide
page 4, Appendix Hoffman's Reports, Vol. 1.
Archibald A. Ritchie and Paul S. P'orbes,
flairiiant^ for (Jallayome, three square leagues in
Sonoma County granted January 17, 1845, by
Manuel Micheltorena to Robert F. Ridley ;
claim filed February 12, 1852; confirmed by the
commission December 22, 1852, and appeal
dismissed December 8, 1856; containing 8,-
241.74 acres. V^ide page 6, Appendix Hoff-
man's Reports, Vol. 1.
Manuel Torres, claimant for Muniz, four
square leagues in Mendocino County (now
Sonoma, situated in Ocean and Salt Point town-
ships), granted December 4, 1845, by Pio Pico
to Manuel Torres; claim tiled February 17,
1852; confirmed by the commission December
27, 1853; by the District Court, October 17,
1855, and appeal dismissed May 7, 1857, con-
taining 17,760.75 acres. Patented. Vide page
7, Appendix Hoffman's Reports, Vol. 1.
Bartolome J)OJorquez, claimant for Laguna
de San Antonio, six square leagues in Marin
County (a great part in Sonoma County, Pet-
aluma Township), granted November 5, 1845,
by Pio Pico to B. Bojorquez; claim filed Feb-
ruary 17, 1852; confirmed by the commission
October 12, 1853; by the District Court Septem-
ber 10, 1855, and appeal dismissed November
24, 1856, containing 24,903.42 acres. Vide
page 7, Appendix Hoffman's Reports, Vol. 1.
Thomas !>. Valentine, claimant for Arroyo
de San Antonio, three square leagues in Marin
and Sonoma counties, part in Petaluma Town-
ship, and embracing the city of Petaluma.
Granted October 8, 1844, by Manuel Michel-
torena to Juan Miranda. Claim filed February
17, 1852, and discontinued February 6, 1855.
The land was then eutei'ed by settlers as gov-
ernment land, and the lots in Petaluma were
entered under the "Town Site liill." \'alen-
tine, by special act of Congress in 1873, got his
claim reinstated before the courts, conditioiu-d
that if he made good his claim to the Arroyo de
San Antonio grant, he would not disturb the
title of the settlers on the grant, but accept
from the government " lien scrip," which could
be located on government land elsewhere. Valen ■
tinereceived a confirmation of his grant, accepted
his lien scriii in 1S74, ami so the matter ended.
154
UIsrORY OF SONOMA COUNT T.
Jose de los Santos Berryesa, for Seno de
Malaconies or Moristal y Plan de Agna Cali-
ente, four leagues in Sonoma County (situated
in Knight's Valley Township), granted October
14, 1843, hy Manuel Miciieltorena to J. de los
Santos Berryesa; claim filed February 20, 1852;
confirmed by the commission June 27, 1854;
by the District Court December 24, 1850, and
appeal dismissed November 24, 1856, contain-
ing 12,540.22 acres. Vide page 9, Appendi.x
Hoffman's Reports, Vol. 1.
Lovett P. Rockwell and Thomas P. Knight,
claimants for portion of Malacoines or ISIoristal,
No. 58, two square leagues in Sonoma County
(situated in Knight's Valley Township), granted
October 14, 1843, by flannel Micheltorena to
Jose de los Santos Berryesa; claim filed Feb-
ruai-y 20, 1852; confirmed by the commission
August 29, 185+, and ajipeal di.<missed Novem-
ber 24, 1850, containing 8,328.85 acres. Vide
page 9, Appendix Hoffman's Reports, Vol. 1.
David Wright ef al., claimant for Roblar de
la Miseria, fonr scpiare leagues in Sonoma
County (situated in PetalumaTownship), granted
November 21, 1845, by Pio Pico to Juan Ne-
pomasena Padillo; claim filed February 24,
1852; confirmed by the commission February
14, 1853; l)y the District Court September 10.
1855, and appeal dismissed December 8, 1856,
containing 1G,S87.45 acres. Patented. Vide
page 10, Appendix Ilotfmau's Reports, Vol. 1.
Jasper O'Farrell, claimant for Canada de la
Jonive, two square leagues in Sonoma County
(situated in Analy and Bodega Townships),
granted February 5, 1845, bj' Pio Pico to James
Black; claim filed l\[arch 2, 1852; confirmed
by the commission April 18, 1853; by the Dis-
trict Court July 16, 1855, and appeal dismissed
December 22, 1856, containing 10.786.51 acres.
Patented. Vide page 12, A])pendi\- llotfman's
Reports, Vol. 1.
M. G. Vallejo, claimant for lot 150 by 130
varas, in Sonoma City, granted July 5, 1635,
by Jose Figueroa to M. G. Vallejo; claim filed
March 30, 1852; confirmed by the commission
January 17, 1854, by the District Court Feb
ruary 18, 1856, and appeal dismissed February
23, 1857; containing 3.81 acres. Vide page 19,
Appendix Hoffman's Reports, Vol. 1. The
patent for this property is on record.
Jaspar O'Farrell, claimant for Estero Ameri-
cano, two square leagues in Sonoma County (sit-
uated in Bodega Township), gi-anted September
4, 1839, by Manuel Jimeno to Edward Manuel
Mcintosh; claim filed March 30, 1852; confirmed
by the commission April 11, 1853, and appeal
dismissed February 2, 1857; containing 8,849.-
13 acres. Patented. Vide page 19. Appendix
Hoffman's Reports, Vol. 1.
Charles Mayer et al., claimant for German,
five square leagues in Mendocino County (now
Sonoma County, and situated in Salt Point
Township), granted April 8, 1846, by Pio Pico
to Ernest Rufus; claim filed April 27, 1852,
confirmed by the commis.^ion December 22,
1852, by the District Court, September 10,
1855, and by the United States Supreme Court;
containing 17,580.01 acres. Vide page 28, Ap-
pendix Hoffman's Reports, Vol. 1.
Mayor and Common Council of Sonoma,
claimant for Pueblo of Sonoma, four square
leagues, granted .June 24, 1835, by M. G. Val-
lejo to Pueblo of Sonoma; claim filed May 21,
1852, and confirmed by the commission Jan-
nary 25, 185(5. Vide page 33, Apperulix Hoff-
man's Reports, Vol. 1.
Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, claimant for
Petaluma, ten square leagues, in Sonoma
County (situated in Vallejo and Sonoma town-
ships), granted October 22, 1843, by Manuel
Micheltorena to M. G. Vallejo (grant), and five
square leagues, June 22, 1844, by Manual
Micheltorena to ^I. (t. Vallejo (sale by the gov-
ernment); clain: filed Maj' 31. 1852. confirmed
by the commission May 22, 1855, by the Dis-
trict Court, March 16, 1857. and appeal dis-
missed July 3. 1857; containing 66,622.17
aci-es. Vide page 35, ApjitMidix llotfman's Re-
ports, \i<\. 1. Patented.
Guadalupe Vasqnez de West et al., claimant
for San Miguel, six square leagues, in Sonoma
I'uunty (situated in Sautu Rosa Tuwuship),
HISTORT OF aONOAfA COUNT T.
granted November 2, 1840, by Juau B. Alvara-
do, and October 14, 1844, by Manuel Michel-
torena to Marcus West, claim tiled May 31,
1852, rejected by the commission April 24,
1855, confirmed by the District Court, June 2,
1857, and decree confirmed by the United States
Supreme Court tor one leagne and a half. Vide
page 35, Apjiendix lloti'nuin's Reports, Vol. 1.
J. Jesus et al., heirs of J. G. Pena, claim-
ants for Tzabaco, four square leagues, in
Sonoma (!onnty (situated in Medocino and
Washington townships), granted October 14,
1843, by Manuel Micheltorena to Jose German
Pena; claim filed August 5, 1852, confirmed
by tlie commission June 26, 1855, l»y the Dis-
trict Court, March 9, 1857; and appeal dis-
missed April 2, 1857; containing 15,439.32
acres. Patented. Vide page 41, Appendix
Hotiman's Report's, Vol. I.
William P'orbs, claimant for La Laguna de
los Crentiles or Caslamayome, eight square
leagues in Sonoma County (situated in CMover-
dale and Washington townships), granted
March 20, 1844, by Manuel Micheltorena to
Eugenio Montenegro; claim filed September 7,
1852, and rejected by the commission Septem-
ber 26, 1854. Vide page 45, Appendix llofl:'-
man's Report, Vol. 1.
John Hendly et al., claimants for Llano de
Santa Rosa, one square league in Sonoma
County (situated in Santa Rosa Township),
granted March 20, 1844, by Manuel Micliel-
torena to Joaquin Carrillo; claim filed Decem-
ber 24, 1852, rejected by the commission
January 23, 1855, and aj)peal dismissed for
failure of prosecution April 21, 1856. Vide
page 68, Appendix Hoffman's Reports, Vol. 1.
Jacob P. Leese, claimant for Lac, 1,000 varas
square, in Sonoma County, granted July 25,
1844, by Manuel Micheltorena to Damaso Rod-
riguez; claim filed February 21, 1853, confii-med
by the commission December 12, 1854, and by
the District Court December 28, 1857, and ap-
peal dismissed December 28, 1857. A^ide page
84, Appendix llottnuin'a Reports, \'ol. 1.
Patented.
Julio Carrillo, claimant for part of Cabeza de
Santa Rosa, in Sonoma County (situated in
Santa Rosa Township), granted September 30,
1841, by Manuel Jimeno to Maria Ygnaeia
Lopez; claim filed Feb. 28, 1853, confirmed by
the commisson April 4, 1854; by the District
Court, March 2, 1857, and appeal dismissed
March 27, 1857; containing 4,500.42 acres.
Vide 88, Appendix Hoffman's Reports, Vol. 1.
Patented.
Jabob R. Mayer ef al., claimants for part pf
Cabeza de Santa Rosa, in Sonoma County (sit-
uated in Santa Rosa Township), granted Septem-
ber 30, 1853; confirmed by the commission April
4, 1854, by District Court March 2, 1857, and
appeal dismissed March 27, 1857; containing
1,484.82 acres. Vide page 88, Appendix Hoff-
man's Reports, Vol. 1.
James Eldredge, claimant for part of Caabez
de Santa Rosa, in Sonoma County, situated in
Santa Rosa Township); granted September 30,
1841, by Manuel Jimeno to Maria Ygnaeia
Lopez; claim filed February 28, 1853; con-
firmed by the commission April 4, 1854; by
the District Court March 2, 1857, and appeal
dismissed March 27, 1857; containing 1,667.68
acres. Vide page 88, Appendix Hofi'man's
Reports, Vol. 1.
F^elicidad Carrillo, claimant for part of ( 'abeza
de Santa Rosa, in Sonoma County (situated in
Santa Rosa Township); granted September 30.
1841, by Manuel Jimeno to Maria Ygnaeia
Lopez; claim filed February 28, 1853; coiifirmed
by the commission April 4, 1854, and by the
District Court March 2, 1857. Vide page 88,
Appendix Hoffman's Reports, \o\. 1.
Juan de Jesus Mallagh, claimant for part of
Cabeza de Santa Rosa, in Sonoma County (situ-
ated in Santa Rosa Township); granted Sep-
tember 30, 1841, by Manuel Jimeno to Maria
Ygnaeia Lopez; claim filed February 28. 1853;
confirmed by the commission April 4, 1854,
and by the District Court March 2. 1857, and
apjieal dismissed March 27, 1857; containing
25<').1(^) acres. \'ide page 8S, Appendix IJoH'
maiTs Ki"pi>rts, Vol. 1.
156
HiaTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
Martin E. Cook et al., claimants for part of
Maiacoines or Moristal, two miles square in
Sonoma (,'onutj (situated in Knight's Valley
'rownship); granted October, 1843, by Manuel
Miclieltorena to Jose los Santos I'erryesa; claim
tiled February 28, 1853; confirmed by the com-
mission August 7, 1855, and appeal dismissed
April It), 1857; containing 2,559.94 acres.
Patented. Vide page 90, Appendix lloft'man's
lieports. Vol. 1.
John Henley, claimant for part of Cabeza de
Santa Rosa, one mile square in Sonoma County
(situated in Santa Rosa Township); granted
September 30, 1841, l)y ^lanuel Jijneno to
Maria "^'gnacia Lopez; claim tiled February 28,
1853; confirmed by the commission December
19. 1854; by the District Court March 2, 1857,
and appeal dismissed March 27, 1857; con-
taining 640.19 acres. Vide page 90, Appendix
Hoffman's Report.s, \o\. 1.
.Joseph Hooker, claimant tor part of Agua
C^aliente, in Sonoma County (situated in Son-
oma Township); granted July 13, 1840, by
Juan B. Alvarado to Lazaro Pena; claim tiled
March 2, 1853; confirmed by the commission
April 24, 1855; by the District Court March
2, 1857, and appeal dismissed March 27, 1857;
containing 550. 8B acres. Vide page 100, Hoff-
man's Reports, \'ol. L. Patented.
Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, claimant for
Agua Caliente, in Sonoma County (sitviated in
Sonoma Township); granted July 13, 1840. by
Juan B. Alvarado to Lazaro Pena; claim filed
March 2, 1853; rejected by the commission
December, 1855, and by the District Court
July 18, 1859. Vide page 100, Appendix
Hoffman's Reports, Vol. 1.
Thaddeus M. Leavenworth, claimant for part
of Agua Caliente, in Sonoma County (^situated
in Sonoma Towhship); granted July 13, 1840,
by Juan B. Alvardo to Lazaro Pena; claim tiled
March 2, 1853; confirmed by the commission
April 24, 1855, by the District Court March 2,
1857, and appeal dismissed April 3. 1857; con-
taining 320.33 acres. Vide page 102. Appen-
dix Hoffman's Reports, Vol. 1.
Oliver iioulio, claimant for part of Cabeza de
Santa Rosa, 640 acres in Sonoma County (situ-
ated in Santa Rosa Township); granted Seji-
tember 30, 1841, by Manuel Jimeno to Maria
Ygnacia Lopez; claim filed Marcii 2, 1S53;
rejected by the commission January 30, 1855,
and appeal dismissed for failure of prosecution
April 21, 1856. Vide page 102, A].pen(li\
Hoffman's Reports, Vol 1.
C. P. Stone, claimant for part of Agua Cali-
ente, 300 acres in Sonoma (/ounty (situated in
Sonoma Township); granted July 30, 1840, by
Juan B. Alvarado to Lazaro Pena; claim filed
Marcli 2, 1853; confirmed by the commission
April 24. 1855, by the District Court March 2,
1857, and appeal dismissed March 31, 1857.
Vide page 104, Appendix Hoffman's Reports,
Vol. 1.
Cyrus Alexander, claimant, part of Sotoyome,
two square leagues (situated in Mendocino
Township); granted September 28, 1841. by
Juan B. Alvarado to Henry D. Fitch; claim
filed March 3, 1853; rejected by the commis-
sion February 8, 1855, and appeal dismissed
for failure of prosecution April 21, 185(). A'ide
page 106, Appendix Hoffman's Reports, \(A. 1.
James A. Watmough, claimant foi- part of
Petaluma grant, one square mile in Sonoma
County, granted October 22, 1843, by Manuel
Miclieltorena to M. G. Vallejo; claim tiled
March 3, 1853; rejected by the commis-
sion January 30, 1855, and appeal dismissed for
failure of prosecution April 21, 1856. Vide
page 107, Appendix Hoffman's Reports, N'ol. 1.
Jose Santos I'erryesa, claimant for 200 by
300 varas, in Sonoma County; granted May 30,
1846, by Joaquin Carrillo to J. S. Berryesa;
claim filed March 3, 1853; rejected by the com-
mission October 17, 1854, and appeal dismissed
for failure of prosecution April 21, l!i56.
V^ide page 108, Appendix Ifntf'mnn's itejioits.
Vol. 1.
BISTORT OP SONOMA COUNTY.
157
P^'
fcyp cagji^Aw,A\jn
,tfir^tg^'-ir*»ffr')tg?)n?*i';7ii^6
'^a5)^(^^^:fr::'r:,ir:.\'^,-'^^<
§ RAlim HWAYS, mnOURSES AND BAIS, ^
ciiAPTEPt xvr.
The San Fkanoisco and Northkrn Pacifk' Ha ilroad- -North Pacific Coast Railroad — Santa
Rosa and Carquinez RAir.itoAn — m lu.ic highwavs — thk last stauk driver — rivers and
water CoTRSES — BAVS AND COVES — CoLoNEI. PetKR DoNAHIte.
fHE Sail I'^ranciseo and North Pacific liail-
rt)ad has been tlie means of ilevelo|>ing
tlie County of Sonoma. It has extended
its soutliern terminus to Point Tiburon. The
original terminus was at Donahue, eigiit miles
l)elow Petaluina, and about thirty-four miles
from San Francisco, at which point the steamer
connected for San Francisco. The passengers
from Sonoma also connected with this steamer
by stage, coming for about eight miles over the
divide between the waters of Sonoma and
Petaluina Creeks.
Donahue was named after the founder of the
road, C!olonel Peter Donahue. Here was situ-
ated all the workshops connected with the road,
with hotel and cottages for workmen.
TratHc and travel outgrew his terminus, and
the road was extended on the west side of
Petulama Creek to San llafael, where it con-
nected by transfer to the cars of the San Fran-
cisco and North Paciiic (Joast Railroad. The
terminus was not found adequate for the rapidly
increasing traffic of the road, and in 1883 Colo-
nel Donahue pushed his broad gauge over the
track of the S. F. & N. P. C. R. R., and fixed
its terminus at Tiburon. And to Tiburon has
been removed the buildings from Donahue.
Leaving San Francisco on the magiiiticeiit
donlile eiiiler stcnnier Tdntidii, |iasst'iigers in
twenty minutes' time are transferred to the cars
at Tiburon. A run of nine and a half miles
through several considerable tunnels, brings
the train to the beautiful city of San
Rafael, overlooking the broad expanse of the
bay. Steaming on through the suburbs of the
town, up a grade, the train suddenly disappears
in a tunnel bored through one of the ranges
which encircle this pretty village. Emerging
on the north side of the range, the scene has
completely changed. Glimpses of the bay may
be had as the train speeds along, now on tlie
edge of the marsh, now over an intervening
point, until the line between Sonoma and Marin
counties is passed. The road next trends along
the shore of I'etaliiin.i (!reek. Opposite and in
bold relief, stands out the old terminus of
I )onaliiie.
(.Crossing Petaluma CJreek, after a run oi
twenty-one miles from San Rafael, the train
bowls into the commercial city of I'etaliiiiiu, at
the head of navigation. I't'talnina is beaiitifullv
and eligibly located. It is surrounded by
country homes and orchards in the highest state
of cultivation, and is distinguished for its pro-
gressive and intelligent population. It is well
drained, neatly built, and is one of the most
prospe ous interior towns in California.
I'Voiir I'etuhiina the train proceeds northerly.
158
HISTORY OF SONOMA COVNTT.
passing Ely's, Penn's Grove, Cotate and Oak
(rrove stations for fifteen miles over an ex-
tremely fertile country which brings us to the
center of the County of Sonoma, and to its
capital town, Santa Rosa.
Santa Rosa is situated on the banks of Santa
Rosa Creek, and is almost hidden in groves of
trees and luxuriant shrubs and flowers. It has
a rapidly increasing population, and is claimed
by all who have seen it as one of the prettiest
towns in the State of California. It stands
upon an alluvial jilain, sloping gradually from
the hills, and is surrounded by farms, orchards
and vineyards. Santa Rosa is the passenger
station for Mark West Springs.
Leaving Santa Rosa, the next station, four
miles distant, is Fulton, and here a branch road
runs to Guerneville in the redwoods district,
distant sixteen miles from Fulton. Trains to
anil from (Tuerneville connect with the main
line going north and south every day.
From P^ilton, going north, the train passes
through the village of Mark West to Windsor,
distant four miles from I'ulton, then by Grant's
Station to Healdsburg, distant six miles from
Windsor.
Healdsburg is situated in the center of the
wide-famed Russian River Valley, and is sur-
rounded by a farming country of unsurpassed
fertility.
Beyond Healds])urg the road follows directly
up the Russian River Valley to Geyserville,
eight miles north of Healdsburg. Geysei'ville
is a pretty village, in the midst of a fruit-grow-
ing country. It is also the station where pas-
sengers take stages for Skaggs' Warm Springs,
one of the popular summer resorts in the State.
From Geyserville to Cloverdale, the north ter-
minus of the road, the distance is ten miles.
Cloverdale is situated on Russian River, just
south of the boundary line between Mendo-
cino and Sonoma. Here stfiges connect with
tlie train for Ukiah City, Round Valley, Pot-
ter Valley :ni(l Humboldt County; also for the
Great Geyser Springs, about .«ixteen miles from
Cloverdale; also the Highland Springs, Lake-
port, Kelseyville, Soda Ray, Bartlett Springs and
the Blue Lakes. There is also a large freight
traffic at Cloverdale, hence it is one of the
busiest towns in the county.
The entire length of the road by way of
Donahue, with water connection, is ninety
miles. By way of San Rafael it is eighty-four
miles, as follow.'?:
Miles.
From San Francisco to Tiburon (i
From Tiburon to San Rafael • • ■ • 9
From San Rafael to Petal uma 21
From Petaluma to Santa Rosa 15
From Santa Rosa to Fulton 4
From Fulton to Windsor 5
From Windsor to Healdsburg 6
From Healdsburg to Geyserville 8
From Geyserville to Cloverdale 10
84
But Cloverdale will soon lose its position as a
terminal city, for the track is already graded and
the mountains pierced with tunnels for an ex-
tension of the road to Ukiah, the county town
of Mendocino Count}'. This extension will be
in running order early in 1889, and will open
up to more complete development a county
that has hitherto been without any facilities for
convenient or ra|)iil communication with the
outer world.
Following is a description of the ferry-boat
connecting the S. F. it N. P. R. R. with San
Francisco. The Tifiuroii's dimensions are:
Length between perpeiuliculars. 224 feet; beam,
34 feet; length of cabin, 155 feet. She is of
the pattern known as the *• (louble ender," and
is nearly a duplicate of the Bay OUy, with
slightly increased speed. She is equipped with
powerful machinery by the Union Iron Works,
the cylinder of the engine being tifty inches in
diameter, with eleven feet stroke. Two low-
pressure boilers of the most approved pattern
afford the driving power; speed twenty miles an
hour. There is an uppei--deck (•ai)in, like that
of the (Kthlini(L The keel of the Tilnnon was
laid on the 2yth of May, 1883, and the hull was
HrsTonr of sonoua county.
launched eight mouths, lacking one clay, after-
ward. The Tibui'ou is the only douhle-ender
that has ever been employed on this liay, outside
the Oakland and Alameda terries.
NORTH I'AcIFH; C<).\ST UAILKhAIi.
Of this road the San Francisco JoariMl of
t'ouiiiieiTc says:
" The scenic route of the 8tate is on the
North Pacific Coast Railroad. Every variety
and change is encountered on this line. Leav-
ing the foot of Market street, San Francisco,
by one of the fast ferry steamers of the com-
pany, a rapid trip is made across the liay to
Saucelito, where the ti'ain is awaiting passengers
and freight for the north. ' All aboard !' and
the train moves out of Saucelito and rolls along
the shores of Richardson's Bay. Rounding the
noted Mount Tamalpais into the beautiful Ross
Valley, it arrives at San Anselmo station, where
transfer is made to San Rafael and San Quentin
and thence to Fairfax, one of the finest and
most noted picnic resorts of the State. From
this point on the scenery becomes wilder,
grander and more varied. Climbing the steep
canon sides, through tunnels, across trestle
liridges hundreds of feet above the creek below,
thence winding its way down, the train skirts
along the hill-sides near Point Reyes to the
shores of Tomales Bay. These are followed for
a distance of fifteen miles, when a rich agricul-
tural district is entered and the thriving com-
munities of Tomales, Valley Ford, Bodega
Roads, Freestone and Howards are passed in
(juick succession and the ascent of the moun-
tains of north-western Sonoma is begun. iVgain
the grand scenery of deep canons and^ redwood
forests is continued until the thriving town of
Duncan's Mills is reached and then to Ingrams,
the present terminus. Camp Taylor is on the
line of this route, and is one of the linest iish-
ing, camping and picnicing localities of the
State.
"The road cost over three millions of dollars,
and is a magniticient piece of engineering skill.
For its length we believe it possesses more
varied scenery than any road in the United
States. In a distance of 80 miles, hills, moun-
tains, dales, valleys, deep canons, rivers, forests,
follow each other in bewildering succession,
and are presented to the view of the traveler as
he passes through the most picturesque part of
this State. It is a splendid field for the sports-
man. The mountains and hills, valleys and
canons abound with game, and the creeks and
rivers are favorite resorts for the fisherman, who
linds his time well occupied. During the sum-
mer months the various places on the line of
the road are resorted to l)y thousands of campers
from the metropolis of the coast.''
TUK SONOMA VALLEY KAILKOAl).
This road is a branch of the Northern Pacilic.
It now connects with the main Donahue line at
Pacheco Station. It runs northward to the old
town of Sonoma, and from thence to Glen Ellen,
which is located in the north end of Sonoma
Valley in a vale surrounded by sloping hills,
which presents as desirable a location for a pros-
perous community as could be selected. It is
located in the heart of the wine section of the
county, and for miles on both sides of the valley
are to be seen hills clad with vines. In summer
it is a great reso.t for camping parties bent on
pleasure and to try their skill with the rod and
gun. As many as 1,500 have camped in this
vicinity at one time during the camping season.
SANTA UdSA AND rAKyllXK/, KAILKoAI>.
This road was completed in 1887. It is a
branch of the Central Pacilic road. It leaves
that line at Napa Junction; passes up the whole
length of the Sonoma Valley to Glen Ellen; passes
on through the Guilicos Valley and terminates
at Santa Rosa. This road is of incalculable
value to Sonoma County, as it affords a dii'ect
and continuous connection with the eastern
lines, and thus opens a way to ready market for
the excellent fruit of this section of the State.
There is now oidy needed a couple of branch
roads, one to Sebastopol and (-Jreen Valley, and
the other to Big Valley to reiidei' the whole
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
county well i)rovided with conveniences for
travel and the conveyance of freight to market.
HimiWAV!
lU'l'ore the advent of i-aiiroads the jmlilic high-
ways of the county were the mediums of travel
and traffic. The central and most consequential
road was that leading from Petaluma, taking in
its way Santa Kosa, Windsor, llealdsburg, Uey-
serville and Cloverdale. Tho.se were the days
of staging. Large coaches drawn by six horses
made the trip daily. The stage driver was then
a consequential man, courted and conciliated by
those who had much traveling to do. .V scat
with the driver was a seat of honor, to secure
which it was generally necessary to make a
special engagement. But the occu|)ation id'
driver was not entirely a sinecure position, iiain
or shine he had to mount his seat, and in ex-
cessively wet winters he generally reached the
end of his route in a terribly mud-bedraggled
condition. Then lie was occasionally stopped
by foot-pads, receiving a peremptory order to
throw out the express box. Occasionally a
driver would escape l)y giving lash to his
team, but as one such got a bullet through his
cheek and had a passenger killed on the seat
along side of him, drivers concluded that such
foolishness did not pay. and ever after they
accorded to foot-j)ads that deference that their
vocation seemed to entitle them to. The rail-
road came, however, and ran close t(.> and paral-
lel with this great artery of ti'a\el. This
put an end to staging on that road, anil it is
now mainly used for local purj)Oses by the in-
habitants along its line.
The next public highway of importance is the
one leading from Petaluma up the coast. It takes
in its route Two Rock, Ploomlield, Valley Ford,
Bodega Corners, Bodega Bay, Markhams Mills,
I'ort Ross and Gualala. That portion of this road
from I'odega to Petaluma has been the medium
of transportation of a vast amount of produce
to market in the years gone by. but the Narrow
Guage Coast Line Railroad now carries much of
the Bodega produce direct to San Francisco.
From near the mouth of Russian River north-
ward this road is graded along the elifls over-
hanging the ocean. For a distance of several
miles the traveler looks down into the surt
breaking ujion the rocks below, and occasionally
the eye is I'elieved by seeing in the distance a
jet of water thrown up by some sportive whale.
When this spur of the Ross Mountain is passed
the road is of comparatively easy grade to the
Gualala River, the boundary line between
Sonoma and Mendocino counties.
One among the oldest roads in the county,
but not extensively traveled, is the one leading
from Petaluma to Sonoma, thence to Glen Ellen
and so on through Guilicos Valley to Santa
Rosa. This road is through a country of his-
toric interest and at every turn the traveler
encounters new and enchanting scenery. All
along the line of this thoroughfare are delight-
ful retreats, and it is becoming a favorite line
of resort to pleasure seekers.
The road from Petaluma to Sebastopol and
thence to Green Valley, although an old one in
point of use, did not for many years receive that
care and consideration that its importance and
utility entitled it to. Lately it has been much
improved, and in time it will come into more
general use as the shortest route to the redwood
forests.
The roads mentioned all have a general course
north and south, or lengthwise of the count}'.
Of course there are many lUteral branches to
these roads leading to valleys and settlements on
either hand. From Cloverdale a good road ex-
tends easterly to the far-famed Geysers; and
westerly to Dry Creek Valley, and thence into
the coast mountains. From Geyserville a road
leads to the Skaggs Springs, a celebrated place
of resort. From Healdsburg roads running
both east and west tap a wide range of country.
Santa Rosa is the focus of a regular system of
lateral roads. The most important of these is
the road by way of Forestville to Guerneville,
and from thence by way of Ingrams to Fort
Ross. That portion of this road between
Guerneville and Ross is through a country
HISTORY OP SONOMA COUNTY.
161
of mountains and forests whicli will ever be a
paradise to sportsmen. With two lines of rail-
road, one ending at (Tuerneville and tlie otlier
at Ingrams, these wilds of Sonoma County are
rendered easy of access to those who seek a res-
pite from the cares and toil of business life.
Above mention is made that as the railroads
advanced tlie stage coaches retired. With the
exception of on a short line on the coast in the
e.xtreme upper end of the county, and that be-
tween Cloverdale and the Geyser Springs, the
stages have entirely disappeared — they are a
thing of the past. For many years after our
raih'uads were completed, a man named Wash-
ington Gilliam, who had long been a driver on
our stage route, continued to run a two-horse
thorough brace, taking a cross-route which gave
accommodation to people between Stony Point
and Tomales. At best, he made bnt a precari-
ous living, but it was liis vocation, and he fol-
lowed it to the end. On the occasion of his
death, in 1882, his friend, Tom Gregory, of
Bloomfield, penned the following graceful lines:
" WASH. <;II,HAJI SI.EKl'S.
"The old stage-driver came (juietly into town
just as he had done off and on for some fourteen
years. P>)it this time he came slower than
usual. He had a new team, but the horses
tramped solemnly along as if they knew that
pace suited the occasion — or knew that some-
tiiing was amiss with the solemn man behind
them. The old driver had a strange look on
his face that we had never seen before — the
look of one who is moving deeply in a mystic
spell. He always was rather (juiet, but now his
silence was almost appalling. When the team
stoi)ped, his old friends anxiously gathered
around him, but lie did not seem to know them,
for he spoke not a word. Gne grasped his
hand, but no ]ires8ure was returned. The fu-
neral that day was conducted by the Masons, and
as he was a member of tluit mystic brntherhood,
he took his place in the procession and with
them moved toward the cometery. Soon they
were all at the graveside. Pausing a moment
on the brink, the old stage-driver went slowly
and steadily down his last grade; the silver nail
heads on the cotHn sparkled star-like in the
gloom of the still, dark depths. Dust unto
dust, ashes unto ashes. The bright little spray
of evergreen and the dull valley clods mingled
together as her dear mother earth folds around
and hides away each home-returning child.
They spread young wings for lofty Hights
through life's warm golden dawn, but at chill
eve come wearily back to slumber on her broad
and loving breast. The crowd went quietly
from out the enclosure and left him there alone.
Now only a low narrow mound, which in a few
days will be grass-grown, marks the spot where
Wash. Gilham sleeps."
KIVKKS AND WATKK ((iLKsES.
The rivers and water-courses ot Sonoma
County are peculiar in character. The Pet
aluma and Sonoma creeks are estuaries of San
Pablo Pay. The ebb and How of tide in these
streams are about six feet in depth. This,
with the natural depth of water at extreme low
tide, enables vessels of from sixty to one hun-
dred tons burthen to navigate them up to the
cities of Petaluma and Sonoma, respectively.
These tide streams are of incalculable \alue as
arteries of commerce. They atford cheap trans-
portation of freight to San Francisco, and ati'urd
an effectual bar to freight extortions by other
mediums of transportation. Both of these es-
tuaries have, beyond the reach of salt water
tides, fresh water fountains that abound in tis-h
of various kinds.
The San Antonio Creek that forms the
boundary between Sonoma and Marin counties
on the south takes its rise in what was called
the Laguna de San Antonio (i)ut now drained)
and has an entire length of not more than
twelve miles. It does not atford much water
in mid-summer, although in rainy seasons it
becomes a torrent. The Santa Kosa and Mark
West creeks are fed by innumerable tributaries
taking their rise in the Macnway range of
mountains, and which abound in trout. Dur-
ing the summer months botli these streams are
HISTORT OF SONOMA COUNTT.
lost ill tliu Santa Kusa plains, luit during tlie
winter or rainy months they debuiieh into the
lagooiias north ot' Sehastopol, and from thence
tlieir waters reach the Russian River.
Sulphur Creek takes its rise in the (4eyser
group of mountains and empties into the Rus-
sian River north of Cloverdale.
Dry Creek takes its rise in Mendocino Coun-
ty and enters Sonoma County just below Dry
Creek canon, and tiows into the Russian River
near Healdsburg. During the suininer it is
barely a trout stream, but in the winter it often
becomes a roaring torrent.
The Russian River is a stream of peculiarly va-
riable moods. It heads high up in Mendocino
County and is the artery of drainage to an im-
mense section of country. In the summer months,
in consequence of the gravelly and porous nature
of the country it traverses it sinks away and is
easily fordable at all points. But in the winter
months, especially if the rain fall has been
copious, it becomes an angry, incontrollable
river. It enters Sonoma County just north of
Cloverdale, and for many miles has a southerly
course with but little fall, until it readies a
point nearly opposite Healdsburg, where it sud-
denly deflects to the west, plunges down
through the redwood forests, and reaches the
ocean a few miles north of liodega Bay. There
are not a few who l)elieve that Russian River
once flowed uiiinipeded to San Pablo Bay, but
this is but the surmise of scientists.
Austin Creek, heading in the north on the
dividing line that forms the head waters of the
southern branch of the Giialala River, flows
south and falls into the Russian River at Dun-
can's mills. It is a mild, placid stream from
Ingrams down in the summer months, but in
winter has its own way, and puts on the airs of
a very consequential stream.
The southern limb of the Gualala River
takes its rise in the mountains immediately
east of Fort Ross. It runs in an e.xactly oppo-
site direction from the Austin Creek, and after
traversing a country for many miles of the
moBt wild and {'''atid scenic ifrandeur it falls into
the main Gualala River about three miles above
where the latter river flows into the Paciflc
Ocean. The country traversed by the South
Gualala, and its fountain streams, will ages
hence be the resort of those who seek com-
munion with the untarnished grandeur of Na-
ture. Locked ill those fastnesses, beyond the
sordid grasp of pelf and gain, is a wealth of
respite from the toil and moil of life that will
be appreciated by the generations of the future.
The Estero Americano is a tide stream up
to Valley Ford, and from thence upward is but
the water conduit of the streams leading from
Big Valley westward. These streams are in-
consequential except in the winter season.
The latest water-way to be noted is that drain-
ing the water-shed of country compassed in
Two Rock Valley. The water of these various
streams And their way into an estuary of the
ocean in Marin County, about midway between
Tomales Bay and the Estero Americano.
There is a peculiarity of the topography of
the country right here worth mentioning. The
ranch at present owned by Allen Rosebnrg,
about eight miles north from Petaluma, is the
saddle of a tridant. The water-shed of the
northerly portion of the ranch sends its water
down through Two Rock Valley and thence to
the ocean through the channel last above de-
scribed. The waters from the southerly slope
of this ranch flow into the Petaluma Creek;
and the water from the western side of the
place flows westerly and through the medium of
Salmon Creek falls into Tomales Bay.
BAYS AND COVES.
Along the ocean line of Sonoma County are
several bays and coves affording good anchor-
age for vessels. Bodega l!ay is a land-locked
harbor affording good anchorage for vessels. It
is about two miles long and one mile wide. Its
entrance is somewhat narrow and dithcult of
access in stormy weather, but vessels once inside
are safe and secure. About ten miles north-
ward, at Russian Gulch, there is a cove where
vessels land and take on lumber by means of a
HI8T0RT OF SONOMA COUNTY.
chute. At Fort Ross there is a very good
landing, and vessels come and go with great
regularity, carrying to San Francisco railroad
ties, cord wood and tan bark. At Timber Cove is
also a landing for vessels. Salt Point has a very
good landing for vessels, so also has Fisk's and
Stuart's Points. At all these places are chutes
for sliding lumber and freights of various kinds
down into the vessels moored Ijelow. The
traveler along the coast is constantly astonished
to beliold the masts of vessels close in shore
where lie would least expect to see them. These
bays and coves on the northwest coast of Sono-
ma County are the mediums of a lumber trade
both vast and protitiible.
coLONKr. TETEIl UnXAHUK.
As Sonoma County was largely indebted to
the late Col. Peter Donahue for her railroad
facilities we account it but just to afford his
name some space in Sonoma County history.
Of his death, the Petaluma Argus of November
28, 1885, said:
"Col. Peter Donahue died at his ri'sidence in
San Francisco at 10 o'clock Thursday evening.
He had been ill several days, but a fatal ter-
mination was not anticipated until within a few
hours of his death. He seemed to have had a
complication of ailments, but diabetes is given
as the immediate cause of death. Thus has
come to an end a remarkably active aii<] useful
life. Peter Donahue was eminently the archi-
tect of his own fortune. The foundation of his
fortune was laid with his own brawny arms
while toiling at the forge. AVith far-seeing
sagacity he made investments and inaugurated
enterprises that not only brought himself rich
returns, but gave lucrative employment and
prosperity to thousand of others. With all his
vast accumulations of wealth, Peter Donahue
never forgot or looked down superciliously upon
those occupying the walks of life he himself
once trod. We have neither time nor space for
more extended mention of the deceased at this
time, and conclude by saying that in the death
of Peter Donahue, San Francisco and California
has lost a most enterprising and valuable citi-
zen."
Continuing the Argus said: '• We last week
announced the death of Colonel Peter Donahue.
To the San Francisco BuUetiu we are indebted
for the following biographical sketch:
" The deceased was born of Irish parents in
Glasgow, Scotland, on the 11th of January,
1822. In 1835 he emigrated with his mother
to America, settling at Matteawan, which is now
a portion of Fishkill Township, Dutchess
County, New York. He worked some two
years in a cotton factory and then entered a
locomotive manufactory in Patterson, New
Jersey. In 1847 he was appointed engineer of
the Peruvian war steamer Itimal. Mr. Donahue
arrived in San Francisco on the steamer Oregon,
June 18, 1849, and proceeded to the mines.
Snlisequently he returned to this city, where he
met his brothers James and Michael. lie and
James established a blacksmith shop on Mont-
gomery street, and about a year afterward they
removed to First street. In 1852 tlie firm
obtained the franchise for lighting the city with
gas, and within two years gas works were estab-
lished.
•' Peter Donahue also established a line of
steamers on the Sacramento River. In 18(')1
he obtained a street railroad franchise and estab-
lished what is known as the Omnibus line. The
same year he obtained a contract for raising and
rebuilding the sunken monitor Comanche for the
defense of this harbor. The first casting melted
and molded in this State was done at the Union
Foundry, by Messrs. Donahue, for the old pio-
neer steamer McK'un, the blasts for the furnace
being prepared by three blacksmiths' bellows,
which are now the jT'operty of the Mechanics'
Institute. The first quartz mill constructed in
this State was made at the Donahue foundry.
A building is now in the course of construction
where the old Donahue shop and wharf existed
on First street in 1850. In 1862 Mr. Donahue
and a few associates built the railroad from this
city to San Jose, and subsequently continued it
to Gilroy, a distance of about eighty miles. This
HISTOar OP SONOMA COUNTY.
road was subsequeutlj sold to Stauford & Co.
A broad gauge road was also built by Mr.
Donahue from the town of Donahue, on Peta-
luma Creek to Cloverdale, a distance of fifty
miles. All of the rolling stock for this road
was constructed at the Donahue foundry. A
branch road was built from Fulton to Russian
River, a distance of eighteen miles, and from
Petaluma to San Rafael twenty-two miles in
length. This latter branch has been extended
from San Rafael to Point Tibnrou on Raccoon
Straits, which is connected with this city by a
ferry line. In 1879 Donahue and his associates
purchaseil the unlinisiied narrow gauge from
Sonoma to Sonoma Creek, which they completed.
For a quarter of a century Mr. Donahue was
director of the Ilibernia Bank, and for over
twenty years a director of the iS'^ational Gold
Bank. He was a life member of the Pioneer
Society.
"The deceased married Miss JaneMcGnire in
New York in 1852, by whom he had four chil-
dren, two of whom are living. A few years ago
the daughter married Baron von Scliroeder, and
until recently lias resided in the southern part
of the State. The son, Mervyn, a few years ago
married the daughter of ex-Supreme Judge
Wallace, and resides at San Rafael. On the death
of the first wife, Mr. Donahue married Miss
Anna Downey, sister of ex-Governor Downey.
" The deceased was a courteous and companion-
able gentleman who well represented the dignity
of labor as an intelligent and industrious
mechanic."
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
165
^V^
■>-j»t^ '«^.
mijk
'^^::t^
m EVENTS IN CHEONOLOGK AL OEDEE.
^i^
ClIAPTEPv XVII.
A RECORD OF TKARS rNCFDENTS ACCfDKNTS — ociT RRENclOS — niscoVERIKS DEVELOPMENTS, ETC.
N anotlier chapter has been given an epitome
of all the occnrrences of a year, as recorded
^ in the only journal then published in the
county. We now take up the thread of current
events where these dropped, and follow it to the
end.
September I'.l, 1856 — The first Republican
uiass convention assembled in the dining-room
of the old Petaluma House.
September 26, 1856 — The settlers held a mass
convention at Santa Kosa.
(October 3, 1856 -The subject of opening a
road north to AV^eavervillc was being agitated.
December 9, 1856— Dr. H. B. Bonham,
county superintendent of public instruction, re-
ported the condition of the schools in the
county.
January 23, 1857 — W. A. I)\ister, county
treasurer, proved a defaulter for several thou-
sand dollars — was tried; sentenced to the peni-
tentiary for five years, and pai-doned by the
Governor at the end of three years.
April 10, 1857— The Round Valley Indian
i-eser\atioti, Mendocino County, established an
agent. John Hendley reported several thou-
sand Indians there, and doing well.
June 5, 1857 — J. A. Rudesill commenced
running a stage from Petaluma to the Geyser
Springs.
June 12, 1857— At Bodega, an Indian killed
one of his tribe — confessed the crime, and was
hung by order of "Judge Lynch."
September 4, 1857 — A large camp-meeting
was held at Liberty school-house.
September 16, 1857 — Three Indians were
hung near Fort Ross by a vigilance committee.
A peace ofiicer was present and forbade the
hanging, but it was of no avail.
October 23, 1857 — There was (|uite an ex-
citement over the supposed discovery of coal in
Two Rock Valley.
November 27, 1857— An elk weighing 800
pounds was killed near Healdsburg. This was
the last elk that there is any record of, and
probably the last one ever in the county.
February 12, 1858 — There was some excite-
ment over the supposed disco\ery of cinnabar,
near Petaluma.
April 23, 1858— The beginning of trouble
about squatters on the Sotoyome grant, near
Healdsburg.
October 4, 1858 — The celebrated comet that
had for weeks been blazing in the heavens, be-
gan to wane.
April 8, 1859 — A. B. Bowers was workino-
on a map of Sonoma County. When completed
it was a most excellent farm maji, vei'v accurate
in every detail.
160
HISTORY (IF SONOMA COUNTY.
September 9, 1859 — The animal fair was lield
at Healdsburg, and the interest manifested in
Sonoma County industries was highly satisfac-
tory.
February 10, 1860 —Discovery of quicksilver
near Mount St. Helena and the Geysers.
June 15, 1860 — A monster grizzly bear was
killed on Salmon Creek, Marin County, by J.
S. Brackett, the Estee brothers, and others. It
was brought to Petaluma and exhibited. It
weighed 1,000 pounds, and had been very de-
structive to stock.
July 6, 1860 — The boundary line between
Sonoma and Marin counties was finally placed
as located by Surveyor William Mock in 1856;
that is, following a straight line from the head
of the Laguna de San Antonio, to the head of
the Estero Americano at Yalley Ford.
August 10, 1860 — A quarry of asbestos was
found near Windsor.
April 12, 1861 — The Legislature passed a bill
submitting the question of county seat removal
to a vote of the people.
May 24, 1861 — Joe Hooker, of Sonoma, left
for the theater of the civil war. He became
the celebrated " Fighting General Joe Hooker "
of that unfortunate conflict.
Ifoveniber 26, 1861 — Lady Franklin, relict of
the ill-fated Sir John Franklin of Arctic Ocean
fame, visited Sonoma County, accompanied by
her niece. Miss Craycroft.
January 21, 1862 — From Petaluma and other
portions of the county liberal aid was sent to
the sufterers by flood at Sacramento.
February 11, 1862— Charles Minturn, of the
Steamer line, straightens a couple of bends in
the creek, below Petaluma.
June 25, 1862 — There was considerable pros-
pecting for coal in the easterly side of Santa
Rosa Yalley, opposite the old Half-way House.
November 9, 1862 — Judge McKinstry re-
signed the position of judge of the seventli
judicial district, and Hon. J. B. Southard was
appointed to the position.
December 3, 1862 — Suit was commenced for
the partition of the Rancho Laguna de San
Antonio, comprising over 24,000 acres. This
ranch was familiarly known as the " Bojorques
Rancho,'" and the history of this litigation is
scattered through over- twenty volumes of the
California Supreiue Court Reports.
August 5, 1863 — There was great excitement
about the discoveiy of copper in the mountains
about eighteen miles westerly from Healds-
bui'g. Copper, in small quantities, in a pure
state, was found, and much prospecting was
done, but with no paying results.
November 2, 1865 — A railroad company was
organized in Petaluma for the purpose of build-
ing a railroad from Petaluma to Cloverdale.
There were various moves and counter-moves
about railroads. The question of location, and
the granting of a subsidy of 85,000 a mile came
to a vote on the 10th of September, 1868. The
subsidy was voted, and the route from Petaluma
to Cloverdale selected. Work was prosecuted
for a time in 1869. then was stopped. Colonel
Peter Donahue bought the road and franchise on
August 10, 1870, and on October 29, 1870, the
first cars ran between Petaluma and Santa Rosa.
In 1872 the road was completed to Cloverdale.
November 9, 1865 — There was a heavy rain-
storm northward along the coast. At the Gua-
lala River the saw-log boom of the Rutherford
Milling Company broke, and about 4,000,000
feet of lumber went out to sea. Three schooners
were wrecked upon the coast.
March 29, 1866 — Michael Ryan was executed
at Santa Rosa, for the crime of killing his wife.
This is the only case of capital punishment yet
on record in Sonoma County.
November 15, 1866 — A destructive lire oc-
curred at Sonoma, and a number of buildings
were destroyed.
November 7, 1867 — Mineral paint of good
quality was found near the mill of O. A. Olm-
stead, in the redwoods.
November 28, 1868 — A stage robbery
occurred near Cloverdale.
December 10, 1868— The schooner C. P.
Heustis, Captain H. Piltz, went ashore near
Fort Ross, and was a total wreck. No lives lost.
BISTORT OF SONOMA COUNTY.
167
January 21, 1869. — A petrified tree was
found while grading for tlie railroad, on the
Cotate Branch.
March 18, 18(39 — According to the school
census Sonoma County had more school chil-
dren than any other comity in the State, except
San Francisco.
August 19, 1871 — A daring attempt was
made to rob the Cloverdale stage. The driver,
Sandy Woodworth, would not stop, and as a
consequence got a bullet tlirough his cheek, and
a young man, named Cofhn, on the seat beside
him was killed.
F^ebruary 24, 1872 — A large whale was
stranded on the shore near Timber Cove, and
the coast residents laid in a supply of whale oil.
March 16, 1872— The Donahue line of rail-
road was completed and in running order to
Cloverdale.
May 25, 1872 — This was an era of road im-
provement around Petaluma and in the county
at large. Many miles of excellent macadam-
ized roads were constructed.
September 6, 1872 — A. Doty & Co. estab-
lished a broom factory near Penn's Grove.
August 1, 1873 — Elijah McMurray, a former
resident of Two Rock Yalley, had a fearful en-
coTinter with a wounded buck, and finally proved
victor, although badly wounded and lacerated.
November 21, 1873 — A telegraphic line was
completed from Petaluma to Humboldt Bay,
and there was Fraternal greeting between the
presses of Sonoma and Humboldt counties.
May 1, 1874 -The schooner Horace Tem,-
plcton was wrecked in Petaluma Creek on what
is known as the " sunken rock.''
May 29, 1874— The basalt blocks of Sonoma
County began to be used extensively for paving
in San Francisco.
June 26, 1874— The Forestville Chair Factory
becomes an important manufacturing industry.
Sept&mber 18, 1874 — A destructive fire
occurred at Bodega Corners.
November 27, 1874 — This was a season of
floods to Sonoma County, on account of excessive
rains.
April 16, 1875 — The steamer James M.
Donahue was completed and commenced run-
ning between San Francisco and Lakeville.
April 30, 1875— Granville P. Swift, one of
the " Bear Flag party," and once a wealthy citi-
zen of Sonoma County, who had money buried
by the thousands of dollars, was found with his
neck broken, in Solano County — his mule
having stumbled and fallen over a precipice.
June 4, 1875 — A new townshi p was created
by the county board of supervisors called
" Knight's Yallej'."
June 18, 1875 — A test case was agreed upon
to settle the disputed boundary question be-
tween Sonoma and Napa Counties. The
decision was in favor of Sonoma County.
October 27, 1876— The Petaluma and San
Rafael Narrow Guage Railroad was sold and
transferred to Colonel Peter Donahue.
January 18, 1878 — This was a season of un-
usual floods to Sonoma Covmt^', and considera-
ble damage was done.
April 19, 1878 — The up-coast stage was
robbed at a point near the Gualala River.
December 27, 1878 — Congress was petioned
for $25,000 to aid in improving Petaluma Creek.
The subsidy was granted and tlie creek much
improved.
January 30, 1880 — The valleys of Sonoma
County were covered with snow, a very unusual
occurrence.
August 20, 1881 — A destructive fire occurred
at Sebastopol.
February 3, 1882 — Foot-pads robbed the
Cloverdale stage.
September 1, 1882— J. R. Jewell of Peta-
luma Township Iniilt the first silo in the county.
March 17, 1883— The Pacific Narrow Guage
Railroad was extended to Ingrams.
October 6, 1883— The Northern Pacific Rail-
road was completed to deep water at Tiburon.
The new steamer Gold, to run between San
Francisco and Petaluma, was completed.
December 8, 1883 — The first stone of the
new court-house at Santa Rosa was laid.
September 25, 1886 — The first canning
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
establislniient at Santa Rusa was destroyud by
iire.
June 18, 1887 — Tlie work of building a
branch railroad from Pacheco Station to con-
nect with the Sonoma Valley Railroad was com-
menced.
July 30, 1888~The northern end of the
count}', from Santa Rosa upward, has a large
showing of new vineyards and orchards.
Below we give a full list of the present towns
and villages of Sonoma County, in alphabetical
order, outside of Petaluma, Santa Rosa, Sonoma
and llealdsburg, that are i-egularly incorporated
cities:
America is ten miles north of Santa Rosa;
including the immediate vicinity; it has a popu-
lation of 250. It is more wideh' known as
Mark West Springs. It has a hotel and post-
ottice and is a resort for tourists and invalids.
A stage line affords communication with Santa
Rosa.
Bloomfield is a thriving comumtiity at the
head of Big Valley, twelve miles north of Peta-
luma. The population is about 350. The
village has a full complement of stores, churches
and societies; a good hotel is maintained. It
has communication by stage with Petaluma.
It is growing and offers inducements to settlers.
Bodega is eighteen miles north of Petaluma,
and located on Bodega Bay in the midst of a
line dairy country from which, with the fishing
business, it derives its support. It boasts of a
hotel, postoffice and express office.
Clahr'dJe is located- twenty three miles north-
west from Santa Rosa on the line of the S. F.
cV- N. P. It. li. If is in the midst of a farming
an<l vino growing disti'ict. There are sevei-al
wineries in the inimediatt' neighborhdod. It
has a population of l."U. Skaggs" S]irin<;s are
six miles distant fnun tiiis point with which
communication is maintained liy stage.
Cliiverdale. — Cloverdale is fourth in point of
wealth and population amongst the towns of
Sonoma County. It is the present terminus of
tlie San Francisco and North Pacific iiaiiroad,
and is distaut thirty-three miles northwest of
Santa Rosa and eighty-four miles from San Fran-
cisco. It is in the midst of a large and pro-
ductive region, and is the center of trade for
the wool interest and extensive hop fields of
this part of the country. The climate here is
more bracing than in the southern portion of
Sonoma, and is especially adapted to the growth
of the hardier varieties of fruits. The popula-
tion is about 1,400 and is steadily growing.
The leading denominations have places of wor-
ship with good congregations. All the leading
secret and fraternal orders and societies have
flourishing organizations. Hotel accommoda-
tions are good. The town is amply supplied
with water furnished by the Cloverdale Water
Company. Real estate is low, and the oppor-
tunities offered to the settler are unexcelled by
those of other places. Stages leave here for
Ukiah, Mendocino City, Eureka and other points
on the North Coast, and for all points in Lake
County and northern Napa. A railroad will,
in a few months, connect it with Ukiah, Men-
docino County. The Cloverdale Reveille ably
advocates the interests of the community. It
is published weekly.
Cozzens. — A small burg located a i^^^ miles
distant from Healdsburg. It has a population
of 150 and is surrounded by a prosperous farm-
ing and wine growing community. A sawmill
is located here and a general merchandise store
supplies the needed requirements of the village.
JJuncan'x M\U>< is located fhirty miles north
from Petaluma. It has communication with
San Francisco by the North Pacific Coast "Rail-
road. It is supported by important lumber,
dairy and stock raising interests. The Duncan's
Mill's LantI and Lumber t'omjiany saw mills are
located here. The population is about 250.
The surrounding coiintr}- is noted for its
romantic and pictures(jue scenery, and abun-
dance of game and fish. It is a favorite resor-
for the tourist, the sportsman and for camping
parties during the summer months. Stages
leave here for all points in ^Lendocino anil Hum-
boldt (tonnties.
J''is/i<ri'iiiitii's lln/ is located on the coast
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
above Fort Ross. A population of 200 is sup-
ported by the farming interest and employment
at the saw ami shingle mills which are located
liere.
/'Isk's Mills is a small village of about 150
population, in Salt Point Township, distant
about twelve miles north of Fort Ross. Com-
munication is had with Duncan's Mills by stage.
Forestville is distant twelve miles northwest
of Santa Rosa, on the S. F. tte N. P. R. R.
Large quantities of tan-bark are shipped from
this point. A rustic chair factory is located
here. The business community consists of a
hotel, blacksmith shops and two general mer-
chandise stores. The surrounding country is
devoted to farming.
Fort lioss is a small settlement forty-two
miles north of Petaluma. It contains many
reminders of the early days wdien a Russian
colony was located here. It is one of the old-
est settlements on the northern coast of Califor-
nia. The population is about 130, who are
principally engaged in stock raising and farm-
ing. It is connected with Duncan's Mills by
stage.
Freestone is on the line of the North Pacific
Coast Railroad. The population is about 175,
supported by the dairying and farming carried
on in the vicinity.
Fvlton. — An ambitious and growing village
on the line of the S. F. & N. P. R. R., four
miles from Santa Rosa, is surrounded by a rich
agricultural district. Considerable fruit is
raised here. The population is 200, dependent
upon the fruit and farming interests of the
vicinity. From this place a branch of the S.
F. it N. P. R. R. extends to (xuerneville.
(jreyser Springs are located sixteen miles
from Cloverdale, from whicli place they are
reached by stage. It is a noted health and pleas-
ure resort. The numerous mineral springs in
the vicinity are the chief attraction.
GuerneviUe. — The progressive and j^rosperous
town of GuerneviUe is situated in the midst of
a large lumber producing district, and is sur-
rounded by forests of redwood; a branch of the
8. F. & N. P. R. R. has its terminus at this
point. The town derived its name from one of
its pioneer residents who is engaged in the large
milling interests of the town. There are four
extensive lumber mills located in the town, em-
ploying a large number of men. The present
population is variously estimated at from 750 to
900. As the forests are being cleared oft' the
land is put under cultivation, producing fine
crops of vegetables and cereals, and a large yield
of fruit. The Korbel mills located about three
miles up the Russian River, are the most exten-
sive lumber mills in the county. Considerable
attention has of late been paid to the vine, and
many acres have been set out. In addition to
the lumber mills, there is also a box factory and
shingle mill in active operation. The prospects
of this town are very bright. Its rapid growth
and prosperity are assured.
Kellogg. — A summer resort, sixteen miles
from Santa Rosa, witli which it is connected by
stage.
Lakeside is a thriving and growing village,
twenty-two miles southeast of Santa Rosa.
There are large farming, dairy and stock raising
interests in the vicinity ; the population is about
150.
Litton Springs. — A noted health and pleas-
ure resort, four miles from Healdsburg, on the
S. F. & N. P. R. R. The water of the mineral
springs located here is bottled and finds a mar-
ket all over the State. The Litton Sprino-s
College is located at this point. The countrv
in the neighborhood is rich and productive, and
inviting to settlement.
Mark West is on the line of the S. F. ct N.
P. R. R. six miles north of Santa Rosa. The
leading interests of the vicinity ure farmiiio-,
fruit and vine growing. The population is
about 100. I'he surrounding country is I'ich
and fertile and excellently ada])te(l to the growth
of vines and fruit.
Occidental. — This, growing and prosperous
town is located on the line of the North Pacific
Coast Railroad, about thirty miles north of Peta-
luma. Farming, fruit growing and lumber
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
iDamifacturing are the principal industries in
wliicii tlie inhabitants are engaged. Tiie popula-
tion is 225.
Penn^s Grove is a sinall .<ettlen)ent live
miles north of Petalnina mi tlif line of the S. F.
& N. I'. R. R. It is in the midst of a large
vine gniwiiig an<l wine producing district. The
population is 125.
Timlier Core is foi-tj'-tive miles north of
Petahima, and has a popidation of 100. The
occupation of the residents is mainly farming,
stock raising, and dairying. It is known by
the Post Oftice Department as ISeaview.
iSkaf/ffs' Sjyringfi, — Has long been noted as a
liealtli and pleasure resort, twenty-nine miles dis-
tant from Santa Rosa. A stage connects it with
Clairville, si.x miles distant. Tiie jiopulation is
about 115, who are principally engaged in wool
raising.
Smith's Iian<]i, or more generally known
as Bodega Roads, is twenty-five miles north' of
Petaluma, and is on the line of the North Paci-
fic Coast Railroad. The people of the surround-
ing country are principally engaged in dairying
and farming, from which their support is chiefly
derived. The population is about is 250.
Stiiiiy Point — Is located seven miles north of
Petaluma in the midst of a large fruit, dairy and
farming region. Thepopidation is about 20U, in-
cluding those residing in the immediate vicinity.
Valley Ford is one of the prosperous com-
munities of Sonotna. It is on the line of the
North Pacific Coast R. R., eighteen miles north
of Petahima. It boasts of a flouring mill. The
population is about 250. It is snppoi-fed by
the large dairying, farming, and stock raising
interest by which it is surrounded.
Windsor is another of the large aud thrifty
villages of Sonoma County. It is ten miles
northwest of Santa Rosa, in the midst of a large
farming and fruit growing section. There are
many vineyards in the neighborhooil aud several
nurseries. It has a population of 400. The
village boasts of a brick manufactory, several
fruit-drying establishments, and other industries
of minor imnortance.
HISTORY OF SONOMA GOUNTT.
INDIAN MASSACRES.
CHAPTEFl XYIIl.
Ill-fated^ Sonoma Countians — -Doctor Smeathman — Canfield, Van NosTRANn and Borton
Barnes — Judson, Woodworth, Baker and "Old Benjamin" — Leihy — Mrs. Sai.lie Ann
Canfield.
flHE early American settlers of Sonoma
W. Count}' luckily escaped the clangers and
J bloody episodes of Indian warfare so com-
mon to those who follow close upon the foot-
steps of receding barbarism. Their immunity
from these usual accompaniments of frontier
life are traceable to three causes. As early as
1811, as has already been shown, the Rus-
sians had secured a lodgment on this coast,
and held real, if not undisputed, sway from
Bodega Bay to the Ciualala River. Those Mus-
covites came, not only prepared with ample
munitions of war to make their presence felt
and respected, but they liriHight with them
quite a little army of Koiliac Indians who, like
all the Indians of the northern latitudes, were
much superior in intelligence and physical
courage to the dull apathetic Indians of Cen-
tral California. AVhatever there may be yet of
unwritten history clustering around Fort Ross,
it is quite probable that the shortest chapter
would be that compassing the recital of Indian
warfare against the Russians. Then, again,
for several years by actual official Dccupancy, the
California government had exercised complete
dominion over all the southern portion of the
county and up the valleys, inland, as far north
as the present site of Cloverdale. But there
was another factor, the third and last, more
effectual than the combined power of Spaniards
and Russians in paving the way for a peaceable
and bloodless occupation of this fair county by
settlers, and that was the pestilence of 1837.
Before its destroying breath, there is good
reason to believe many thousand Indians per-
ished within the territory now embraced in
Sonoma, Marin, Napa and Solano counties.
Where tribes were not entirely swept away,
they were so reduced in numbers as to virtually
put an end to organized tribal distinctions.
Before they had time to rally from this broken
and shattered condition, the tidal wave of ad-
vancing civilization engulfed them. While the
historian of Sonoma County is spared the re-
cital of bloody and tragic deeds consequent
upon civilization and barbarism meeting upon
debatal)le grounds, they to whom shall fall the
task of embalming in volumes the histories of
Mendocino and Ilumbolt counties will have to
dip their pens deep in blood.
BISTORT OF SONOMA COUNTY.
While the boundaries of Sonoma County was
ever a sliield to lier citizens against danger from
Indians, not a few wandered fortli and tVli vic-
tims to Indian savagery elsewliei-c. It is due
to the memory of such to give their names, and
tragic manner of death, a place in this volume.
They are given in chronological order, and with
all the minuteness of time, place and attendant
circumstances, at command.
• In the early sixties Rev. H. O. G. Smeatli-
inan was installed rector of St. John's Episcopal
Church, Petal uma. He was an Englishman by
birth, and had a tinished education, being a
regular graduate of a medical college of the
land of his nati\ity. lie was a gentleman as
unassuming and honorable as he was a Chris-
tian kind and exemplary. In 1863 he resigned
the rectorship of his church and went to the
tlien. Territory of Nevada. Having a good
knowledge of mineralogy he entered with zeal
into the search for hidden lodes of silver which
just then was the center of attraction to the
mining world. He was in the habit of ventur-
ing forth alone and penetrating the depths of
solitary wilds. The following brief letter,
signed '-J. M. Case,'' and addressed to Mrs.
Smeathman, tells the rest:
"Star City, N. T., March 30, 1864.
"Mrs. Sarah Smkatuman, Dear Friend: —
" The party who went out to see after the
remains of your husband liave just returned.
Although it stormed every day they were gone,
they succeeded in iinding his remains, unmo-
lested by any wild beasts or anything after the
Indians left him. They found that he was shot
by aritle ball, entering the back of his head and
coming out at his right eye. He had no other
marks or bruises on his body, but his
clothes were entirely stripped from him and
taken away. The party found it impossiJile to
bring the remains in without a wagon and a
coffin, but they buried him as well as they
could, so that if it is still the wish of his friends
to have him sent to California it can be done,
but it will cost considerable."'
Close followiutf the cruel fate of the ill-starred
Dr. Smeathman, three more of Sonoma Coun-
ty's sons, citizens of Eloomfield, fell victims to
savage atrocity, near the same place, and at the
hands of the same Indians who killed the former.
Hon. E. F. Dunne, a former Representative in
the California Legislature fi-om Sonoma County,
in a letter of date. Star City, N. T., May 9,
1864, addressed to the " Wells Fargo Agent,
Rloomlield," wrote as follows:
" We have had another Indian massacre here,
and three of your townsmen are killed — II. I>.
Cantield, Perry Van Nostrand and J. W. Borton.
E. M. Noble is shot in three places, and has
almost miraculously escaped death, the slightest
show that ever a man lived on in this world.
"The above named persons were on their way
to Boise, and on Queen's River, distant about
seventy-five miles from here, fell in with three
persons who were out prospecting. They had
stopped for dinner, and had turned their horses
out to graze, having taken oft' the saddles.
They were surprised by a band of sixty Indians
who fired upon them from behind some rocks.
It was certain death to attempt to run away
on foot, so they made for their horses. Noble
got his horse sooner than the rest and had him
saddled, having only taken oft' the bridle, and
might have escaped without a shot, but he
turned and with a six shooter in each hand stood
his ground and kept the whole band at bay till
his comrades should get their horses and saddle
them. While standing thus he was struck in
the neck with a ball, entering a little behind
the left ear down below the hair, and coining
out about the middle of the back of the neck,
barely missing the neck bone. A few moments
later he was struck in the abdomen, on the left
side, in the lineof the navel, some five inches dis-
tant therefrom. He thinks both these shots
were fired by the same marksman, as he noticed
him taking sight. He watched for his appear-
ance the third time, and as he showed his head
above the rock behind which he was concealed,
he fired at him, and thinks he hit him, as he
saw him no more. But the boys were not
ready yet, and he still stood his ground. He
HT8T0RT OF SONOMA COUNTY.
173
was not knocked down by either shot. The
otliors who were not yet killed, were now ready.
Bnt just as Xohle was preparinn; to mount, he
was struck again, e.sca])ing inure wonderfully
than before. Tlie ball entered from the front,
on the left side, striking right at tlie base of the
])elvi8 and passing under it, came out a little
back of the right hip joint, and yet apparently
not injuring him in the least, further than the
pain of a ilesli wound, (/antield, Van Nostrand,
and I'orton, with Dodge one of the pros-
pecting party, were already dead. The remain-
ing two with Noble now jumped to their
horses and escaped. The affair occurred Tues-
day, May 3. The parties left struck for the
Jjoise River trail, to get help to go back for
the bodies, and met with Mr. Jordan (after
whom Jordan Creek is named) and some men
with him, some of whom took care of Noble,
and Joi^dan and others with Gates (who was
along and who, by the way, is an intimate friend
of mine, and from whom 1 learn these particu-
lars) went back to recover the bodies. But
there had fallen fifteen inches of snow during
the night and they could not find them, and the
horses could not live, so they brought Noble
down here, and a party will set out immediately
from here to recover the bodies of the dead.
Borton was killed the first shot. Canfield and
Van Nostrand were hit. The broke from their
horses and ran, and a number of Indians after
them, and no more was seen of them. Dodge
was killed on the second volley."
The Petaluma Argus, of same date in which
the above appeared, said editorially:
" In another column will be found a letter
from K. F. Unnne, Esij., giving an account of
the murder, by Indians, of J. W. Borton, Berry
Van Nostrand and II. B. Canfield, of Bloom-
field, in this county. J. W. IJorton was, prior
to the departure for the mines, our agent at
J'loomtield; and when he bade us good-bye, we
little dreamed that sucli an untimely fate was
in store for him. Since Mr. Dunne's letter was
placed in type we have received a communica-
tion from our Star City, Nevada Territory, corre-
spondent in relation to the same subject. The
only apparent discrepancy between the two
statements is in reference to i'orton. We make
the following extract from the communication
of our correspondent: 'While Dodge was sad-
dling his horse he received a shot in the head
and died instantly. Gates had the pi-esence of
mind to grab the ammunition, and he. Noble
and Kendall threw themselves on their horses
and charged through the ranks of the savages
who were fast closing around them, and under
a perfect shower of balls and arrows — all their
horses being pierced with several arrows each.
Dodge was dead, Canfield and Van Nostrand
dead or dying — while poor Borton was sitting
where he was when shot — not even blessed with
the sweet relief of a speedy death, with only
his faithful watch-dug by his side, which, when
last seen was determined tojierish in defense of
his dying master.' "
Cotemporaneous with the chronicling of the
above bloody episode, the Argun contained the
following brief mention:
" James D. Barnes, who used tu reside in Two
liock Valley, in this county, and brother to Dr.
T. L. Barnes, of this city, was killed by Indians
near Areata, Humboldt County, California, un
the fifth inst. He was out some three miles
from home looking for horses when he was at-
tacked and wounded twice, once in the shoulder
and once in the back. He succeeded in reach-
ijig home, but died soon after. He was buried
by the Masonic fraternity, of which order hi;
was a member."
Only eighteen months bud run their ccjurse
when another requisition was made upon the
citizens of I'loomfield and Big Valley for blood
to slake savage thirst -the treacherous A})aches
of Arizona Iteing the instrumentality, this
time, of placing crape at the door of several
Sonoma Countj' homes. In the early part of
186t) there was much excitement over reported
rich deposits of gold and silver in the Territory
of Arizona. To every new liehl of mining ex-
citement Sonoma County liad furnished her full
(juota of seekers after the " golden fleece,'' and
BISTORT OF SONOMA COUNTY.
many of them were in the vanguard of pros-
pectors lured to Arizona. Andrew Jmlson,
Ira D. AA'^oodworth and Metcalf iiaker, all from
the neighborhood of Bloomfield, were betruiled
by the stories of mines of almost fahnlous rich-
ness, to abandon tlie qniet pursuits of agricul-
ture, and seek in Arizona a speedier road to
wealth. After much prospecting they at length
staked their chances upon a mineral ledge in
Sacramento district, some distance from Hardy-
viile in tliat Territory. In this mining enter-
prise tliey had associated with them a Mr.
Noodles and a man known by the sobriquet of
" Old Benjamin." That they had earnest faith
in the richness of their mine, is evidenced by
the fact that through the stubborn rock they
had excavated a shaft to the depth of about 100
feet. Whether inistaken or not as to the wealth
of mineral below them, it can well be under-
stood that in that desert place, surrounded by
somber rocks that had been placed in their
settings by the mighty forces of Nature, was, to
them, centered much of hope and expectation in
life. On the morning of the 29t]i of October,
18i)6. they repaired to their work, doubtless,
little dreaming that they were under the shadow
of an impending calamity. Andrew Judson
(we knew him well from sunny boyhood up to
estate of manhood) had been lowered to the
dark depths of the shaft, while his companions
stood ready to winze up the tub, as filled with
rock below. Their horses were picketed in the
flats close by, wherever forage was to be found.
The first intimation they had that the treacher-
ous Apaches lay concealed behind the rocks was
the ringing report of rifles upon the morning
air. Woodworth, Baker and " Old Benjamin''
bit the dust, and Noodles, although shot through
the body, made swift foot, and with knife in
hand severed the picket rope of a horse, and
vaulting upon his back, was the only one to
escape to recount the tragic occurrence. Of
the balance, human tongue never told, and only
the recording angel knows what was the agony
of poor Judson when his murdered companions,
and jagged rocks, were tumbled down the shaft
upon him by cruel Apache hands. That now
deserted shaft, hewn down through rock, will
perpetuate the story of one of Arizona's most
tragic scenes.
Wiieii calamity came t<i Sonoma •citizens
abroad, at tiie hands of Indians, the first seems
always to have presaged the swift coming of
anotiier. In less than two months Ironi the oc-
currence above narrated the Ari/i/.t chronicled
the following:
'■There apjiears to be a singular fatality that
marks citizens of this county as victims of
the iu\tred and fiendish barbarity of the Indians
of adjacent territories. Only a few weeks since
we clironicled the killing of three of our citizens
in Arizona Territory, and again we are pained
by the intelligence that another of our citizens
has fallen a victim to the treacherous foe. G.
W. Leihy, of this city, Indian agent for Arizona,
and H. C. Everts, his clerk, were, Mhile on the
road from Prescott to La Paz, on the 18th of
November, killed by the Indians, and tiieir
bodies subjected to all the atrocities peculiar to
savage barbarity. Mr. Leihy was a resident of
this county; and his wife and only child have
resided in this city during his absence in
Arizona. * * * We knew him well, and
esteemed him highly as a gentleman and friend.
Only a few months since he visited our oftice,
and gave us much valuable information about
Arizona; and when he bade us good-b}' we lit-
tle thought that we would so soon be called
upon to chronicle his death, under circumstan-
ces so painful.
" Since the above was placed in type, the fol-
lowing letter, written by Mr. J. H. Stewart,
who used to reside near Petaluma, has been
handed us for publication:
" ' Sax Bernaedino, Dec. 3, 186(5.
'•'Mrs. Sarau Leihy — Dear Madam: — I
have a task to perform, the most unpleasant of
my life. I have been putting it off" for two
days, and during that time I have scarcely slept
at all ; the news has fairly stunned me. George
is dead — killed bj' the Indians, as also his clerk,
Mr. Everts. They were killed this side of
HISTORY OF SONOMA GOUNTT.
175
Prescott, at a place called Bell's Canon, the
same place that Mr. liell and Mr. Sage were
killed last year. They were traveling alone
with two Indians; one of them was his old ser-
vant, the other was one of the River Indians,
who was taken prisoner at Skull Valley this
summer. It is supposed that they were attacked
by a large number of Indians. I have got my
news from men that I am acquainted with.
They left Prescott two days after Mr. Leihy
left, and came to the ground two days after the
murder and saw his grave. They were buried
by one citizen and some soldiers. They knew
Mr. Leihy. He had left their camp about an
hour, when the mule that Mr. Everts rode came
back to camp. They then followed on and
found them dead. They took them near the
station and buried them. The two Indians who
were with thera have not been found. The
Indians killed one of George's horses and cut
all the ineat off of it and took the other with
them. They also burned his carriage and de-
stroyed or carried off all that he had with him.
You may hear of his death before you get this
— I hope that I may not be the first to break
the dreadful news to you, but I thought you
would rather hear some of the particulars from
me. I probably know more in regard to his
affairs than any one else, and I wish you to
communicate with me freely and I will do all
for you that I can.' "
As stated above, the two Indians accompany-
ing Leihy and Everts were not found — and
opinion was divided as to whether they, in con-
certed treachery, had led their over-conliding
companions into an ambuscade of fellow savages;
or whether they had themselves been taken
prisoners, and reserved for still more cruel tor-
ture and mutilation than that which had been
visited upon the lamented Leihy, whose head
had been literally pounded to a pulp with
stones. Some six months after the tragic occur-
rence above narrated, the Arizona Miner pub-
lished the following, which would seem to
exonerate the missing In<lian companions of
Leihy fiom the suspicion of treachery :
"Among some Apache prisoners lately cap-
tured by Colonel Ilgis in the Mazatzal Moun-
tains and taken to Fort McDowell, was a squaw
who, through an interpreter, gave the following
particulars concerning the murder of George
W. Leihy, superintendent of Indian affairs for
this Territory, at Bell's Canon, November 18,
1866. From the circumstantial and connected
way in which they are told they are believed by
the officers at Fort McDowell to be entirely
correct :
" A band of Apaches from the Sierra Ancha
Mountains (probably Tontos) had been visiting
the Colorado River Indians, and were on their
return, with passes given them upon the river.
Upon reaching Bell's Canon they proposed
coming to Fort Whipple for rations, thinking
the passes would protect them and also procure
the supplies they were in need of. While in
consultation upon the subject, an Indian in
their company, who had spent much time on
the Colorado, saw Leihy and his clerk. Everts,
approaching by the road, and announced to tiie
band who they were. It was then concluded to
kill Leihy; to kill the great chief of the whites,
as they thought him to be, would alarm the
whole white population and soon restore tlie
country to the peaceable possession of the In-
dians. Acting at once upon this idea, they
brutally murdered the superintendent and
Everts; and to make the work more shocking
to the whites, the bodies were mutilated in the
most terrible manner. The Indian taken in the
famous Skull Valley tight (August 13, 1866),
for whom Mr. Leihy, in mistaken kindness, had
obtained a release from Fort Whipple, and
whom he was taking to La Paz, is reported by
the squaw to have been an Apache Mohave,
and to have been killed in the attack. She does
not state, however, whether it was intended to
kill him. The other Indian, a Mohave, who
went from here with Leihy, was taken by the
band to be a Maricopa. It will be remembered
that he had just been on a visit to the Marico-
pas. He insisted that he was a Mohave, but
the baud denied it and charged him with being
^
BISTORT OF SONOMA COUNTY.
afraid to acknowledge his tribe. He was taken
some distance in the hills and tortured to death,
according to the usual manner in which the
Apaches deal with the Maricopas. His scalp
was taken and the band started for their ran-
cheria, near Meadow Valley, where they had a
grand dance over it. A sub-chief, the husband
of this siiuaw, was sent to Big Rump's village
on the Saliscus River, near tli,e mouth of Tonto
Creek, with a request that Big Rumj) would
have mescal ready by the next full moon, when
the band from the Sierra Anchas would be
there to have a jubilee over their killing of the
white chief, his clerk, and the Maricopa. On
his journey upon this mission, this sub-chief
and his companion, including iiis wife (the
squaw in question), were attacked by Colonel
Hgis's party. The sub-chief and the other were
killed; the squaw and others captured, as already
stated."
Thus ends all that will, probably, ever be
known in reference to the motive and manner
of the massacre of Leihy and his companions.
In this act of perfidy, the Indians of Arizona
struck down their best friend, for Mr. Leih}', in
honest faith, was their confiding friend, and we
know it from his own lips that he believed that
the Indians of the Pacific Coast were " more
sinned against than sinning." We account it a
duty discharged to place this token of remem-
brance upon that lonely grave in Arizona, in the
deserts of which Aztec semi-civilization seems
to have met its sunset.
MRS. SALLIE ANN CANKIELD.
We cannot more fitly close this chapter of
Indian horrors experienced by Sonoma County
residents than by appending the following
obituary notice taken from the Petaluma Anjus
of Mrs. Sallie Ann Canfield, an aged lady whose
name was almost a household word in Sonoma
County, and who, although dying peacefully
surrounded by her family, had passed through ex-
periences of savage atrocity such as will give her
name a certain passport to future generations:
" It is with deep regret that we announce the
death of Sallie Ann Canfield, beloved wife of
William D. Canfield, of Blucher Valley, which
occurred at 10 o'clock Tuesday evening, April
3, 1888. Mrs. Cantield's maiden name was
Sallie Ann Lee. She was born at Arlington,
Vermont, August 20, 1810, and married to Mr.
Canfield June 10, 1828. In 1837 they moved
from Arlington to Springfield, Pennsylvania,
where they remained two ycj^rs and then re-
moved to Jensen County, Illinois. In 1812
they again took up their westward line of march
and settled in Iowa, upon the present site of the
now flourishing city of Oskaloosa. Here Mr.
Canfield erected the first house and laid out the
public square, the lines of which has'e not been
changed to this day — though the city has an
estimated population of 40,000. In May, 1817,
Mr. Canfield started through the wilderness with
his wife, five children and a small party of
friends, for (Oregon. They reached Whitman's
Mission in Walla Walla Valley, in October of
that year, where they proposed to spend the
winter and look around for a favorable location.
In this they were doomed to disappointment,
for in a little more than one month from the
time of their arrival the treacherous Indians
surprised them and killed all the men of the
settlement except Mr. Canfield and a man by
the name of Osborn, who made his escape. Mr.
Canfield was badly wounded, but managed to
conceal himself in an old adobe house until the
fellowing night, when he was informed by some
children that the Indians intended to hunt him
up and put him to death in the morning. He
made a heroic effort, on foot, and reached Lap-
way Station, in Washington Territory, a dis-
tance of 140 miles, in a few hours less than one
! week. The women and children were all made
i prisoners and servants of the Indians, except
Mrs. Whitman, who was killed. When it was
ascertained that Mr. Canfield had escaped the
red devils put on their war paint, surrounded
the house that contained the poor women and
children and were on the point of massacring
them all, when ' Old Beardy,' a former chief,
rode suddenly into camp and standing upright
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
upon his lioi-fje pleaded eloquently for the lives
of the prisoners. The savajres' after listening
spell-bound to the old man's oration, informed
the prisouers that their lives would be spared.
Here a long story could be told, if space per-
mitted, of the efforts of Mr. Canfield, and the
trials of the party, but it is sufficient to state
that he interested the men of the Hudson Bay
I'ur ('(iiiipany, in behalf of the prisoners, and in
one month's time the good Peter Ogden, chief of
that Company, arrived from Vancouver, and after
an ett'ort of three days and nights succeeded in
purchasing their freedom — paying the Indians
in blankets, guns, ammunition, knives and
trinkets. After getting possession of the
prisoners he made a contract with the Nez
Perces to bring Mr. Canfield's family to Fort
Walla Walla where he joined his grief-stricken
wife and children who had mourned him as dead.
Peter Ogden took the remainder of the party
down the Columbia River in three small boats,
landing at Oregon City January 12, 1848.
Mr. Cantield and family had lost everything ex-
cept the scanty clothing upon their backs, but
as soon as they were comfortably situated, he
joined a party and went back to punish the In-
dians. The chief and four of the Indians were
brought in and afterward hanged at Oregon
City. March 4, 1849, Mr. Cantield and family
sailed for San Francisco, where they landed on
the 10th of that month. They remained in
San Francisco until August 1, 1850, when
they became residents of Sonoma County, first
settling in the oM town of Sonoma. They have
occupied their present Ijeautiful home in Blucher
Valley ever since January 1, 1852. Here they
have been honored and loved for all these lorn/
years by all who came in contact with them.
Here the good old lady passed awa}', surrounded
by all the surviving meyibers of her family, and
thus closed an eventful life. Her daughter,
Mrs. James H. Knowles, of this city, and her
son Oscar, who arrived from Idaho a few days
before her death, are the only surviving children.
We now have before us an invitation to their
' Golden AVedding,' which was celebrated June
10, 1878, and it recalls many pleasant reminis-
cences of the past. Mrs. Canfield will have been
laid away in the family burying ground, on
their own place, before this notice reaches our
readers. If there is any reward beyond the
grave — and we trust there is — -for a long life of
virtue, honor and unselfish usefulness, our friend
is well provided for now."
178
BISTORT OF SONOMA COUNTY.
M* ' SONOMA AND MARIN DISTRICT
'^1,, AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. JP'"^
j>m..
'^^
CPIAPTER XIX.
"When uKliANIZED — its CHANGE.S IX organization lis FAIRS AND OFFICERS — CHANGE OF LOCATION OF
FAIR (JROCNOS — ITS GOOD EFFECT ON OIK INIHSTRIES.
'HE history of this society i>^ a part of tlic
; liistory of Soiioiim County, and among its
^^ iiroinotors in tiie early days will bo found
many names of Sonoma County pioneers.
Tiietirst organization of the society was made
under tlie name of the Sonoma Agricultural and
Mechanics" Society, on April 12, 1859. Pursu-
ant to a call made by publication a large num-
ber of snbscribers to the Sonoma County Fair
met at the Masonic Hall, Uealdsburg, on Thurs-
day evening, March 24, 1859, to devise the
necessary ways and means of carrying out the
enterprise. A temjwrary organization being
deemed advisable, Hon. W. I'. Ewing was called
to the chair, and stated the object of the meet-
ing, .lames B. IJoggs appointed secretary. A
committee of two from each township was ap-
pointed to solicit further subscriptions. A
committee of live was appointed to report per-
manent organization and rules and regulations,
to report at a future meeting. Meeting then
adjourned to April 12, 1859, at which time the
society was duly organized, with the following
officers: President, Washington P. Ewing, and
nine Vice-Presidents ; Secretary, J. B. Boggs ;
Corresponding Secretary, G. W. Granniss;
Treasurer, Lindsay Carson; and a Board of nine
Directors, consisting of Colonel A. Haraszthy,
Major J. Singley, C. J. Robinson, Josiah Mnrin,
G. P. Brumtield, J . ]S\ Bailhache, Julio Carrillo,
J. W. Wilbur, and D. I). Phillips. The first
fair was held at Healdsburg. At the election
of officers for the next year, J. Q. Shirly was
elected President, and I. G. Wickersham, Secre-
tar}'. At a meeting of the society held March
3. 1860, on motion of Mr. Weston, a committee
of live was appointed to confer with agricultural
societies of the counties of Marin, Mendocino,
Napa and Solano, and in case uo society e.xist
in those counties, then with some ol the promi-
nent agriculturists and stock-raisers therein,
upon the subject of establishing a District Agri-
cultural Society, to be known as the Sonoma and
Napa District Society. II. L. Weston, I. G.
Wickersham, Jasper O'Farrell. .1. S. Robbersoii
and Rod Matheson were appointed said com-
mittee. The second fair was held at Petaluma,
on the grounds of Uriah Edwards, and for it
premium lists were prepared under the direction
of Mr. Wickersham. Col. Haraszthy made the
opening address. Petaluma Band gave the
music for the occasion, at the price of four hun-
dred dollars. The records of the society for that
year are very full and complete, made by the
secretary, S. D. Towns, who had been elected to
till the place of Mr. Boggs. E. Latapie was the
marshal of the week.
At the election held at the close of the fair.
Dr. John Hendley was elected President; Wing-
field Wright, Vice-President; W. H. Crowell,
HISTORY OP SONOMA COUNTY.
179
Secretary, and J. II. Iloliiics, Treasurer, and it
was resolved to hold the next fair at Santa Rosa.
Thereafter the fair was held at different points,
until 1867, wlien the society was reorganized,
witli J. li. Rose, I'resident. and Phillip Cowcn,
Secretary. That year the pavilion was erected,
and a large part of the cattle stalls and horse
stalls constructed, and the society, under its
management, held its first fair; J. P. Clark was
marshal; X. C. Stafford, superintendent of the
pavilion, and il. JJoyle. superintendent of the
stock gnninds. To make the purchase of per-
manentgrounds about 250 life memberships were
sold at the price of $25 per share, with privilege
of free admission to all subsequent fairs and right
to exhibit. The old race-track, about two miles
from the city, was still used for all races. The
second annual election of the society was held
on the second Saturday of May, 1868. The
counties of Sonoma, Marin, Mendocino and Lake
constituted the district at this time. J. R.
Hose was re-elected President; Andrew Mills,
Vice-President, and Phil. Cowen. Secretary,
with nine Directors. The fair for 1868 was
lield at the new grounds, September Slst to
25th, inclusive. George Pearce made the open-
ing address, and E. S. Lippitt the annual ad-
dress. J. P. Clark acted as marshal, and F. W.
Lougee and M. Doyle as superintendents of pavil-
ion and stock grounds. This year, for the first
time, the society confci-red diplomas for meri-
torious exhibits.
At the annual election, in May, l86'J, J. R.
Rose was unanimously elected President; A.
Mills, Vice-President; P. Cowen, Secretary; I.
G. Wickersham, Treasurer; with the same num-
ber of Directors. The fair this year was held
September 27th to October 1st. N. L. Allen
acted as marshal, D. W. C. Putnam was super-
intendent of pavilion, and Thomas Rochford,
superintendent of stock grt)unds. The fair was
very creditable, and the society felt the need of
more room. A committee was appointed to secure
more ample grounds for the fair and race-track.
On the 15th of January, I. (i. Wickersham
presented a petition to send to the liegislature
to solicit State aid, and a meeting of life mem-
bers was called to meet April 2, 1870, to select
new grounds for the fair. The result of the
action of the meeting was to l)uy grounds adja-
cent to the old fair grounds, and upon them
construct a half-mile race-track, grand stand, and
other conveniences for a permanent fairground.
The new board of officers were elected in Dec-
eml)er, 1870, and consisted of E. Dunnian,
President; Lee Ellsworth and II. Mecham, Vice-
Presidents; J. Grover, Secretary; and Williaui
Hill, Treasurer. Society during this year duly
incorporated, and J. R. Rose, to whom tho
several parcels of land of the fair ground had
lieen deeded, as trustee for the society, deeded
them to the society. A committee, of E. Den-
man and C. Tempel, was also appointed to make
arrangements to pay the large indebtedness of
the society.
The fair for 1871 was held September 25th
to BOth, and was well attended. The third stage
of the society's existence had now commenced.
The receipts were largely in excess of former
years, amounting to .S3,370. The annual meeting
for 1871 was adjourned until January 6, 1872,
when an election of officers was had, with the
following result: President, Lee Ellsworth: E.
Denman and J. R. Rose, Vice-Presidents; Frank
Lougee, Treasurer; and J. Grover, Secretary.
The great expeiise of the new purchase and
grand stand, and construction of race track, had
been met by the generous action of the public-
spirited citizens of the city of Petaluina and
county, who assumed the liabilities by their
joitit note, amounting to about 812,000. About
forty signed the note. This amount was after-
ward ])aid by them, as the note became due' ex-
cept 85,000, which was paid by the city of
Petaluma. The j)ayment of this debt by these
men relieved the society from a great burden.
The society's fair for 1872 was held Septem-
ber (ith to llth, inclusive. B. Ilaskel was
superintendent of pavilion. The receipts of the
society this year were larger than any preceding
year, amounting to -85,841, besides the sum of
82,000 appropriated l>y the State. At the annual
UIsrORT OF SONOMA COUNTY.
election held December 7, 1872, the retiring
Tresident, L. Ellsworth, made a report to the
society of their progress, from its reorganization
in 18(37 to date, by which it appeared that the
total receipts of the society had amounted to
s29,633, and that the society had expended, for
grounds, pavilion, grand stand and premiums,
the sum of §40,751 leaving an indebtedness of
$11,118, secured as heretofore stated. The fol-
lowing officers were elected for ensuing year:
Tresident, E. Denman ; Vice-Presidents, L.
Ellsworth, William Zartman; Secretary, E. S.
Lippitt; Treasurer, Kobert Seavey.
The fair for 1873 was held October 6th to
lltli, inclusive, Captain Watson acting as mar-
shal. Ilev. G. B. Taylor delivered the annual
address. The receipts for the year were $6,-
200 besides s2,000 received from the 8tate, most
of which was expended in enlarging the accom-
modations for stock and enlargement of the
grand stand. The annual meeting for 1873
was held on December 7th, and the following
officers were elected to serve for the ensuing
year: President, J. E. Rose; Vice-Presidents,
Lee Ellsworth and IT. Mecham; Secretary, E.
S. Lippitt; Treasurer, A. J. Pierce; Directors,
A. Morse and Robert Seavey.
The fair for the year 187-1 was held Septem-
ber 14th to 19th, inclusive. D. W. C. Putnam,
was elected superintendent of pavilion, and
Judge Shafter delivered the annual address. At
the annual meeting in 1874 the following othcers
were elected to serve for the ensuing year: Pres-
ident, J. R. Rose; Vice-Presidents, H. Mecham,
G. D. Green; Secretary, E. S. Lippitt; Treasurer,
A. Morse; Directors, P. J. Shafter and Robert
Crane. The district was enlarged now by taking
in Napa and Solano counties, and exhibitors
restricted to the district.
At the fair held in 1875 Prof. Fitzgerald,
State Superintendent of Public Schools, deliv-
ered the annual address. This year the pavilion
was enlarged by the addition of agricultural
and horticultural halls. The receipts amounted
to S5,614. At the annual election in 1875 the
following othcers were elected for the ensuing
year: President, L. Ellsworth; Vice-Presidents,
A. P. Whitney and P. J. Shafter; Secretary, E.
S. Lippitt; Treasurer, A. Morse; Directors,
Robert Crane and H. Mecham. Mr. Ellsworth
having resigned, H. Mecham was afterward
elected by the Board of Directors to till his place.
The fair for 1876 was held from October 9th
to 14th, and was in extent and quality greatly
in excess of any heretofore held. The display
of stock was the finest exhibited at any of the
fairs of the State, and the departments of agri-
culture and horticulture were greatly in advaiice
of former fairs. Major Armstrong acted as
marshal. Judge Shafter delivered the annual
address. At the annual meeting held December
2, 1876, the following ofHcers were elected:
President, li. Mecham; Vice-Presidents, A. P.
Whitney, P. J. Shafter; Secretary, E. S. Lip-
pitt; Treasurer, A. Morse; Directors, G. D.
Green, Robert Crane. By action of the society
the district was enlarged to take in the counties
west of the Sacramento and north of the bay,
including Humboldt and Yolo. The fair for
1877 was held September 24-29. M. D. Bo-
rnck delivered the annual address, James Arm-
strong acting as marshal. The receipts were
the largest ever held by the society, amounting
to $7,577. The pavilion was enlarged by ex
tending the west wing forty feet. A large
number of stalls for horses and stock were Iniilt
and the whole grounds thoroughly overhauled
and repaired, which not only absorbed the
large receipts but entailed a debt of $1,385.
At the annual election this year, 1877, the old
board of officers were re-elected and the time of
fair fixed for September 21st to 28th inclusive.
During this year the grounds had been greatly
adorned by the planting of trees. An art gal-
lery was built twenty-tive feet wide by eighty
feet long and other permanent imjirovements of
the grounds and buildings.
The fair held in 1878 was the largest and
most interesting of the whole series. The re-
ceipts amounted to $7,665. The expenditures,
$8,436. Leaving a small debt subsisting against
the society.
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
181
Tlie Legislature at the session of 1877-'8
enacted a new law in regard to agricultural
societies, making the president and two directors
to be chosen eacli year and the treasurer and
secretary to be other than members of the Board.
At the last election held December, 1878, the
following Board of Directors was elected: Pres-
dent, A. P.Whitney; E. Denman and K. Crane,
Directors forone year; J. McM. Shafter and PI.
Mecham, for two years; A. Morse and R. Seavey,
for three years. F. W. Lougee was by the Board
elected Treasurer and W. E. Cox, Secretary.
During the last year the same enterprising
spirit has been exhibited by the Board — new
gates to the park have been built and a new
ticket office and treasurer's office. The grand
stand was enlarged one-half its former dimci-
sions. jVew trees planted and new stalls erected.
The last fair was equal to any that preceded it.
J. P. Clark was marshal of the week; D. W. C.
Putnam, superintendent of the pavilion. E. S.
Lippitt delivered the annual address.
The fair of 1880 was held during the week
commencing Monday the 6th of September.
Hon. A. P. Wliitney was the president of the
society. The fair that year was largely at-
tended, and made memorable by the presence of
President Rutherford B. Hayes, General Wm.
T. Sherman, Secretary of War Ramsey and Gov-
ernor George Perkins.
In 1881 the district fair was held at Petal u-
ma, commencing Monday the 5tli of Septemlier.
A. I'. Whitney, President; P. J. Shafter, H.
Mecham and Wm. Zartman, Directors. A very
able annual address was delivered iiy Rev. E. R.
Dillee.
Notwithstanding t)ie large amount of money
that had been cxpendeil in fitting up tiie " old
fair grounds'" in the northern portion of the
city of Petaluma, it was found that the society
was cramped for room. The race-tr.ack was a
half mile one. and tlie exhiiiitsof stock was get-
ting beyond the possii)le accommodations of
stall room. Something had to be done. The
society determined to sell the old grounds and
purchase elsewhere. This change was made in
1882, and the grounds selected was a tract of
100 acres in the eastern edge of the city limits.
A mile track was graded and put into excellent
condition; and the pavilion, grand stand and
other movable buildings from the old grounds
were put up. On the western side of the
grounds, between the pavilion and grand stand
was planted several acres of miscellaneous shade
trees. There is now nearly a running mile of
stall room, with space for further additions, as
may be required. Taken as a whole this is now
one of the finest fair grounds in the State, in
all its appointments. In truth, it is a conceded
fact, that the Sonoma and Marin district fairs only
rank second to the State fairs at Sacramento.
The fair for 1882 commenced on the 28th of
August and continued for a week. It was fully
up to the standard of former fairs. A. P.
Whitney elected President; Henry Lawrence
and H. T. Fairbanks elected Directors. The
annual address was delivered by Professor A.
G. Burnett, then of Healdsburg.
In 1883 the annual fair commenced on Mon-
day, 28th of August. The list of entries and
premium awards were unusually large. A. P.
Whitney, President; Robert Crane and E. Den-
man were re-elected Directors.
The annual fair of 1884 commenced on the
27th of August. Jiulge James McM. Shafter
was president of the society and delivei-ed the
opening address. Professor A. G. Burnett, the
accomplished orator, delivered the annual ad
dress. A. P. Whitney, President; M. Page and
P. J. Shafter were elected Directors.
On Monday, August 24, 1885, the district
fair opened under most favorable auspices and
was an entire success. J. H. White, President;
J. H. White, II. F. Fairbanks and ,1. E. Gwin,
elected Directors. Hon. E. C. Munday deliveretl
the annual address.
The annual fair for 1886 fell on Monday,
the 23d of August. .1. II. White, President;
George P. McNear, John Switzer, elected Di-
rectors. L. C. Byel was stijierintendent of the
pavilion. P. J. Shafter, of Marin County, de-
livered the annual address.
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
Ill 1887 the I'iiir wa.s held as usual in the
last week of August. It showed au increased
attendance. J. H. White was still President.
J. E. Gwiu and Wilfred Page were re-elected
members of the Duard of Directors.
The fair of 1888 was by far the most suc-
cessful one ever held. Notwithstanding the
ftreat room-capacity of the stock-grounds, it was
inadcijuate to meet all the requirements of ex-
hibitors. The ]>avilion exhibits were better
than Gw.v before. Tliis society has done a good
work in pi-omoting Sonoma County industries.
Its present otticers are: II. Mecham, Presi-
dent; A. L. Whitney, A. W. Foster, T. C. Put-
nam, W. H. Gartman, O. Hubble, Directors.
At this fair of 1888, Hon. J. Iv. Dougherty,
now one of Sonoma County's Superior Judges,
delivered the following annual address:
Mi:. Pkksidknt, Ladies and Gentlemen: —
This association has done ine mucli honor in
inviting me to deliver the annual address upon
this occasion. In accepting the task I was
aware of the responsibility incurred, and I had
no grounds of encouragement.
I remembered that the subject of agricultural
fairs and festivals of this nature was one upon
which I was not in the habit of bestowing much
thought.
I remembered that from a crowd of people
upon the grand-stand, where there is so much
else to occupy its attention, I could not expect
close attention or be heard.
I remembered, too, that my closest listeners
would be those most interested in the fair and
better qualiiied and more capable of addressing
you than I myself. So that it is with a feeling
of awe that I undertake the task, and I would
that I were more qualified to do justice to the
theme, that iny appreciation of the honor might
lie better shown.
AVlien I begun to revolve the subject over in
my mind, to determine what 1 should say, the
first question that I naturally asked myself was,
what is the origin of the American fair? Is it
a legacy from some foreign country or the pro-
duct of American enterprise, ambition and in-
genuity. Wherein docs it diti'cr from the
prehistoric harvest festival or the fairs of ancient
and modern time of other countries.
Py some, the word fair is derived from a
Latin word nicaning holiday, a day exeni[)t
from labor; by others, from a Latin word mean-
ing to trade, to barter.
There were festival occasions in early times,
the object of which would make either deriva-
tion acceptal)le.
Heathen mythology aixuinds with allusions to
the festivals held in honor of their gods. Under
the inspiration of a false yet beautiful theology,
it was the custom at stated intervals to render
homage at temples consecrated to their deities.
Gifts were brought to propitiate the all-pow-
erful Demeter — the fabled representative of
Mother-Earth.
We read of the corn and harvest festivals
held in honor of Ceres.
Horace sings from his Sabine farm of the
festival of golden fruits in honor of Pomona.
When the harvest season was over, when the
wine press had been laid away, Italia's vine-
dressers used to meet at some nook on the vine-
clad hills and tap the last year's cask in hoiun-
of Bacchus.
The old Roman used to seek the excitement
of the hippodrome and witness the horse races
and chariot races.
These were purely holiday festivals. There
is another class of festivals in foreign lands of
early origin and now common in many parts of
Europe and Asia. It is called the Fair. Lord
Coke defines it as ''a greater species of market
recurring at more distant intervals " and calls
them legalized public places for the sale, ex-
change and barter of commodities.
These fairs originated because of the want of
proper communications between producers and
consumers.
One of the most noted of these is that of
Hurdniar, on the upper course of the Ganges.
A quarter of a million of people annually visit
the exposition, and every twelfth year a million
or upward make a special pilgrimage from all
HISTORY OF SONO\tA COUNTY.
18:?
parts of" Asia taking tliithor Persian shawls,
rugs and carpets, Indian silks, Cassimere shawls,
preserved fruits, spices, drugs, et cetera, together
with immense numbers of cattle, liorses, slieep
and camels.
The annual fairs of Beaucaire in France, of
Nihni Norgorod of Russia, the German fairs of
Frankfort and Leipsic, wliere gather the pro-
ducers and traveling merchants from the four
corners of the earth, bringino; with them their
fabrics and costly wares, are all the outgrowth
of a necessary common center of exchange.
The American Agricultural i'^airis peculiarly
an American institution. We come not here to
do sacrifice to an imaginary protectress or .scat-
ter offerings npon her saci'ed shrine.
We come not here solely to barter our own
jiecnliar productions.
Ours the better part to meet together for
mutual counsel and improvement, to compare
e.xperiences, to witness the achievements of the
present, and seek to expand, enlarge and perfect
our capacities for future usefulness.
The harvest having closed, the season's work
being over, it is a holiday week when the farmer
throws aside his tools, selects the choicest of
his grain, vegetables and live stock; the fruit
grower brings his peach, jiear, apple, fig, apri-
cot, plum aad olive; the wine-grower, the pure
juices of his press; the merchant, his stock of
goods, wares and merchandise; the stock-raiser
liis finest herds of imported cattle and thorongh-
l)red standard work and ti'otting horses; the
mother brings the little baby, the daughter her
needlework, to exhibit them to the world, to
compare them with their neighbors, and with
frietully rivalry contend for a prize.
How grand is the scene before ns! a mile of
stalls filled with blooded horses with ears erect
and nostrils extended ready for a race. Live
stock of every description from every nook and
corner of the district, and a pavilion filled to
overflowing. * •'■ " * *
In belialf of this association and its directors,
a cordial welcome is extended to all.
This association has great cause to rejoice at
the rapid progress which our j)eople are making
in all that tends to build up a great and powerful
district.
The lively interest which is now manifested
in the improvement of all sorts of stock has
given us in our genial climate the best variety
of animals in tiie world.
Our rich lands are largely under cultivation,
and we are not dependent upon others for the
necessaries of life.
The yearly reports which this society, is com-
pelled to make to the State Board, show a vast
increase in every department of agriculture
from year to year.
Indeed we have within our own district com-
prising the counties of Sonoma and Marin all
the elements of true greatness.
With a population nnsurpassed for intelli-
gence and patriotism, with as rich and pro-
ductive lands as the world affords, and sufficient
rainfall to insure annual crops without irriga-
tion, if we act wisely and use properly the
means which have been so profusely spread
before us, there is for ns a glorious future.
I am asked by members of this association to
extend to its courteous president, active secre-
tary and able board, its thanks for their liberal
attention and successful work in its behalf.
The management and work of the year must
necessarily fall upon them, but there is work
for every man and woman in the district.
If we are to have a good fair and pleasing
exhibition, we must bring sometluTig here to
exhibit.
The larger and more varied the exliiliit the
better the record among the archives of State,
the better pleased the visitors, the better its
financial condition.
County and county, city and city, town ami
town must all co-operate in order that each an-
nual meeting shall sur[iass the last and iiiipai't
an abiding good.
It is not for to-day or for to-morrow, nor for
tlie brief period of existence allowed to those
who particii)ate here to day that wo perpetuate
these fairs.
HISTORY OP SONOMA COUNTY.
Natukh's Laboratory— ThI' Geysers
h^^;jl3Tj;j jp j^ ^'^ ^^^^ j^a j^ ^ jjatx:
iS^' '^■i^^^^^zri^-^^^^c::::^:::^^^'^ ><^^:
CHAPTER XX.
ThK (tEYSERS THEY WERE VISITED IN 1S65 liY ViCE- PRESIDENT ScHUYLER CoLFAX AXD SaMDEI.
Bowles, editor of the Si>KiN(;FiKr.ii, ]\[as-;aohi'setts. Republican — what Mr. Bowles wrote
— Clark Foss — the kahtiujuake, 1808.
fHE present terininns of tlie Donalme Roail,
otherwise tlie San Francisco A: North
Pacific Railroad, is Cloverdale, jnst eiglity
miles from the city of San Francisco. A pleas-
ant journey of three hours in the handsome new
cars with which the company have lately
equipped the road will land the traveler all safe
and sound at that place. Leaving San Fran-
cisco at 8 A. M., the journey is finished by 11
o'clock, in time for noon refreshments. As the
dinner progresses, the sound and hustle of the
preparation of many lines of stages with passen-
gers for the upper coast of Mendocino, the
Geysers, Flighland Springs and other splendid
summer resorts fill the air. The Geysers of
Sonoma County are pre-eminently the one un-
paralleled wonder, the something which no other
country in the world can duplicate, illustrati\e
of the wondrous waj's of Providence visible in
this world below. FVom Cloverdale to the
Geysers is sixteen miles, making the whole dis-
tance from San Francisco ninety-six miles and
al)out six hours' journey.
A distinguished European geologist describes
the California Geysers as " fearful, wonderful."
The visitor is surrounded by all kinds of con-
tending elements, boiling, roaring, thundering.
hissing, bubbling, spurting and steaming here
extremes meet in a most astonishing way — if a
diversity of mineral springs can be called ex-
tremes — as there are over three hundred in
number that possess every variety of character-
istic. Some are hot; others icy cold; some con-
tain iron; some soda; others sulphur. Side by
side boil and bubble the hottest of hot springs
and the coldest of cold ones, being, frequently,
but a few inches apart. Indeed so closely do
they lie together that the greatest care must be
exercised lest one should step knee-deep into a
" cauldron '' or an " icy bath.'' Even the rocks
become thoroughly heated, and quantities of
magnesia, sulphur, alum and many other chemi-
cals lie thickl}' strewn about the lava beds,
making a sort of druggists' paradise. The noise,
too, and the smell are as diversified as the char-
acter of the springs. Of the lioiling springs
and steam receptacles, one is known as the
" Devil's Grist Mill," another, " The Calliope,"
then, the "Steamboat (xeysers," the "Witches'
Cauldron," the " Mouutain of Fire,'' the latter
of which contains several hundred apertures.
In all of these are shown, each for itself, some
interesting and remarkable peculiarity.
It is a place that recalls to our mind the
HTsrORY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
1S5
Witches" Retreat in Shakespeare's Macbeth.
The water in a pool of the stream forms
Nature's Cauldron, and one cannot liut repeat:
" Round about the CiUlUli-on go;
In tlie poisoned entrails throw —
Toail, that under coUlest stone,
Days and nights has thirty-one.
Swelter'd venom sleeping got,
Boil thou first i'the cliarmed pot !
Double, double, toil and trouble;
Fire, burn; and cauldron biililile.
" Fillet of a fennj' snake.
In the cauldron boil and bake;
Eye of newt, and toe of frog.
Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,
Ailder's fork, and blind-worm's sting,
Lizzard's leg, and owlet's wing,
For a charm of powerful trouble.
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.
Double, double, toil and trouble ;
Fire, burn ; and cauldron bubble."
(Jf tlie Geysers, the most enjoyable features
is the stage ride from Oloverdale through Sul-
piiur Creek Canon. The road is of easy grade,
and the scenery inost picturesque.
Samuel Bowles (since deceased), editor of the
Springfield, Massachusetts, liepuhliean, accom-
]ianied Vice-President Colfa.x to this county in
1865, and they visited the Geysers. The fol-
lowing is Mi;. I)Owles' description of what they
saw in their journeyings:
"Similar and prolonged experience, with
some added and fresh elements, came from a
rai)id three day's journey northerly to see the
Geysers or famous boiling springs, and the
neighboring valleys, famous for farms and fruits
and vineyards. A steamer took us up through
San Pablo Uay, one of the widen ings of the
outcoiTiing waters of the interior, and Petaluma
Creek, to the thriving town of the latter naine.
I took a sharp look at it because of its persistent
desire to steal your neighbor, llev. Mr. Harding,
away from Longmeadow, and found it one of
the most prosperous and pleasant of California
towns, at the foot of one of the richest agricul-
tural regions of the coast. The rest of the day
we rode through driest dust and reposing
nature, up through the Petaluma Valley and
over into that of the Russian River, famous and
peculiar here for its especial kindliness to our
Indian corn, also for its toothsome grouse, first
cousin to our partridge; stopping at the village
of Healdsburg for brass band, speeches and
supper, and after a rapid hour's drive by moon-
light, at a solitary ranch under the (Teyser
Mountain for the night.
"Sunrise the ne.xt morning found us whirling
along a rough road over the mountains to the
especial object of the excursion. But the drive
of the morning was the more remarkable fea-
ture. We supposed the Plains and the Sierras
had exhausted possibilities for us in that re-
spect, but they were both outwitted here. For
bold daring and brilliant execution, our driver
this morning must take the palm of tl'ie world,
1 verily believe. The distance was twelve miles,
up and down steep hills, through inclosed pas-
tures; the vehicle an open wagon, the passen-
gers six, the horses four and gay, and changed
once; and the driver, Clark T. Foss, our land-
lord over night and the owner of the route.
For several miles the road lay along the llog's
Back, the crest of a mountain that ran away
from that point or edge, like the side of a roof,
several thousand feet to the ravine below, and
so narrow that, pressed down and widened as
much as was possible, it was rarely over ten or
twelve feet wide, and in one place but seven
feet, winding in and out, and yet we went over
this narrow causeway on the full gallop.
" After going up and down several inountains,
having rare views of valleys and ravines and
peaks, under the shadows and inists of early
morning, we came to a point overlooking the
Gej'sers. Far belovv in the valley we could see
the hot steam pouring out of the ground, and
wide was the waste arouml. The descent was
alinost j^erpendicular; the road ran down 1,600
feet in the two miles to the hotel, and it had
thirty-five sliarp turns in its course. 'Look;it
your watch,' said Foss, iis ho started on the
steep decline; crack, crack, went the whip o\(>r
the heads f)f the leaders, as the sharp corners came
in sight, and they plunged with seeming reck-
HISTORY OF SONOMA GOUNTY
lessness aliead, and in nine minntes and a lialf
they were pulled up at the bottom and we took
breath. Going l)ack, the team was an liour and
a ijuarter in the same passage. Wlien we won-
dered at Foss tor liis perilous and rajiid di'i\ing
down sucli a steep road, he said: 'Oh, there's
no danger or ditiiculty in it. All it needs is to
Ivcep your liead cool, and the leaders out of the
way." l)Ut nevertheless I was convinced it not
only does require a quiclc and cool Ijrain, but a
ready and strong and experienced hand. The
whole morning ride was accomplished in two
hours and a quarter, and thougii everybody pre-
dicts a catastrophe from its apparent dangers,
Foss has driven it after this style for many
years, and never liad an accident.
"The Geysers are exhausted in a couple of
hours. Tiiey are certainly a curiosity, a mar-
vel, but there is no element of beauty; there is
nothing to be studied, to grow into or upon
you. We had seen something similar, but less
extensive, in Nevada, and like a three-legged
calf, or the Siamese twins, or P. T. Ijarnum, or
James Gordon Hennett, once seeing is satisfac-
toi-y for a life-time. They are a sort of grand
natural chemical shoj) in disorder. In a little
ravine from ofi' the valley is their jirincijial the-
ater. The ground is white, and yellow, and
gi-ay, poi-ous and mtten with long and high heat.
The air is also hot aiul sulphurous to an un-
pleasant degree. All along the bottom of the
ravine and up its sides the earth seems hollow
and full of boiling water. In frequent little
cracks and pin holes it finds vent, and out of
these it bubbles and emits steam like so many
tiny tea kettles at high tide. In one place the
earth yawns wide, and the 'Witches' Cauldron,'
several feet in diameter, seethes and sprouts a
black, inky water, so hot as to boil an egg in-
stantly, and capable of reducing a human body
to pulp at short notice. The water is thrown
up four to si.K feet in height, and the general ef-
i'ect is very devilish indeed. The ' Witches'
Cauldron ' is reproduced a dozen times in min-
iature — handy little pools for cookinfr your
breakfast and dinner, if they were only in your
kitchen or back yard. Farther up you follow a
puffing noise, exactly like that of a steamboat in
progress, and you come to a couple of volumes
of steam struggling out of tiny holes, but
mounting high and spreading wide from their
force and heat.
" You grow faint with the heat and smell, your
feet seem burning, and the air is loaded with a
mixture of salts, sulphur, iron, magnesia, .soda,
ammonia, all the chemicals and compounds of a
doctor's shop. You feel as if the ground might
any moment open, and let you down to a genu-
ine hell. You recall the line from Milton, or
somebody: 'Here is hell — myself am hell."
And, most dreadful of all, you lose all appetite
for the breakfast of venison, trout and grouse
that awaits your return to the hotel. So you
struggle out of the ravine, every step among
tin}- volumes of steam, and over bubbling pools
of water, and cool and refresh yourself among
the trees on the mountain side beyond. Then,
not to omit any sight, you go back through two
other ravines where the same phenomena are re-
peated, thougli less extensively. All around by
the hot pools and escape valves are delicate and
beautiful little crystals of sulphur and soila, and
other distinct elements of the combustibles be-
low, taking substance again on the surface.
" All this wonder-working isgoing on day and
night, year after year, answering to-day exactly
to the descriptions of yesterday and five
years ago. Most of the waters are black as ink,
and some as thick; others are quite light and
transparent; and they are of all degrees of
temperature from 150 to 500. ^sear by, too,
are springs of cold water, some as cold as
these are hot, almost. The phenomena carries
its own explanation; the chemist will reproduce
for you the same thing, on a small scale, by
mixing sulphuric acid and cold water, and the
other unkindred elements that have here, in
nature's lal)oratory chanced to get together.
Yolcanic action is also most probably connected
with some of the demonstrations here. There
must be utility in these waters for the cure of
rheumatism and other blood and skin diseases
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
187
The Indians have long used some of the pools
in this way, with results that seem like fables.
One of tiie pools has fame for eyes; and with
clinical examination and scientific application,
doubtless large benefits might l)e reasonably
assured among invalids from a resort to these
waters. At present there is only a rough little
bathing-house, collecting the waters from the
ravine, and the visitors to the valley, save for
curiosity, are but very few. It is a wild, unre-
deemed spot, all around the Geysers; beautiful
with deep forests, a mountain stream, and clear
air. Game, too, abounds; deer and grouse and
trout seemed plentier than in any region we
liave visited. There is a comfortable hotel; but
otherwise this valley is uninhabited.
" Back on the route of our morning ride, we
then turned off into the neighboring valley of
Napa, celebrated for its agricultural beauty and
productiveness, and also, for its Calistoga and
Warm Springs, charmingly located, the one in
the plains and the other close among mountains,
and consisting of the fashionable summer resort
for San Franciscans. The water is sulphurous;
the bathing delicious, softening the skin to the
texture of a babe's; the country charming; but
we found both establishments, though with ca-
pacious headquarters and family cottages,
almost deserted of people. I'assed farms and
orchards, through parks of evergreen oak that
looked as perfect as the work of art, we stopped
at the village of Napa, twin and rival to Peta-
luma, and from here, crossing anothing spur of
the West Range, we entered still another
beautiful and fertile valley — that of Sonoma.
"Here are some of the largest vineyards of
northern California, and we visited that of the
Enena Vista Viiiicultural Society, under the
management of Colonel Ilarasztliy, a Hunga-
rian. This estate embraces about 5,000 acres
of land, a princely-looking house, large wine
manufactory and cellars, and about a million
vines, foreign and native. Tiie whole value of
its property is half a niillii)n dollai's. including
$100,000 worth of wine bratidii's ready and in
preparation for market. We tasted the liquors,
we shared the generous hospitality of the estate
and superinteiident; bnt we failed to obtain,
here or elsewhere, any satisfactory information
as to the success of wine-making yet in Cali-
fornia. The business is still very much in its
infancy, indeed; and this one enterprise does
not seem well managed. Nor do we find the
wine very inviting; they partake of the general
character of the Rhine wines and the Ohio
Catawba, bnt are rougher, harsh and beady —
needing apparantly both some improvement in
culture and manufacture and time for softe?iing.
I have drank, indeed, much better CJalifornia
wine in Springfield than out here.''
As a Knight of the Whip, Clark Foss had a
wide reputation only equalled by that of " Hank
Monk." But he was caught by death on the
down grade, and his foot could not reach the
break-bar. The Santa Rosa Democrat of Sep-
tember 5, 1885, said:
"James P. Clark received a dispatch from J.
A. Chesboro, of Calistoga, announcing the death
of Clark Foss, which occurred at his residence
near Kellogg, (ui Tuesdaj' afternoon. Mr. Foss
was one of the most widely known men on the
Pacific coast. Ilis reputation as a skillful
driver was second only to Hank Monk of the
old Overland stage line. For the past thirty
years he has run stages to and from the Geyser
Springs. He was for a long time a resident of
Ilealdsbui'g, and ran stages from there to Ray's
Station, from whence passengers were taken over
the Geyser Peak to the springs. When the
railroad was completed up Napa Yalley, he
moved to Calistoga, built a toll-road over the
mountain by way of Pine Flat and thence
down Sulphur Creek to the springs, and put on
a line of six-horse wagons. Until the comple-
tion of the Donahue mad to Clovurdale all travel
went by that route. .Mr. I-'oss was a man of
great nerve, and you could not rake up six of
the most vicious mustang tribe that he would
not tone down after a very short experience. He
would whirl around the curves on his grand
road at a gait that would stiffen the hair on the
head of a timid tourist."
HISTORY OP SONOMA COUNTY.
A^ the forces of nature as exhibited by tiiese
tkr-taiiied Geysers are very siio^gestivp fif vol-
canic ornptions and eartiiquakes, we cannot
more titly close tliis chapter than with a descrip-
tion of the heaviest earthquake experienced in
California since its occupancy by Americans,
that of October 27. 1868. Its force and effect
at Petaluma is tlius described by the Anjus :
'• Yestenlay moining, at abont nine minutes
to eight o'clock, an earthquake was felt in this
city wliich for severity and damaging results
surpassed anything of the kind ever before ex-
perienced in this vicinity. The oscillation of
the earth seemed to be from east to west, and
there were three distinct shocks, following each
other in rapid succession, lasting, we should
think, from ten to fifteen seconds. liuildings
seemed to sway back and forth like reeds in a
storm, and onr excited and panic-stricken citi-
zens of conrse made hurried movements to get
in the streets. Horses plunged and fretted as
the earth trembled beneath their feet. All
nature seemed for the moment to tremble in
fear at. the threatened convulsion. Several
buildings were badly damaged on Main street,
though none fell — the most of the damages
done being in the stores wherein were piled
goods of a perishable nature, ^fany chimneys
were toppled and thrown down, and a stone
dwelling in the southern portion of the city had
its front shaken out, but the family occupying
it being abed when the shock occurred, miracu-
lously escaped injury. A great deal of crockery
ware was also broken, and most of the clocks in
the town stopped; in fact, for the moment, it
looked like the end of all time. From all we
can leai'n before going to press, the following
are the names of those suffering damaofes: F.
T. Maynard, breaking of bottles and loss of
drugs, §1,000; 8. I). Towne, ditto, !?l()0; Man-
ning & Son, $20; DeMartin & Co., $200;
Symonds, !f;75; Lamoreaux ^ Cox, $20; A. !'.
Whitney, $150; Carothers A: Todd, $100; and
several others whose damages are comparatively
trivial. During the whole forenoon of yester-
day light shocks were felt, and every one seemed
to be more or less nervous lest another heavy
shock might visit us with more disastrous re-
sults. There were no casualties. Up to present
writing everything is quiet, and the fright of
our people is diminishing. There was a report
that the brick school-honse was badly damaged,
but this, like a thousand other reports, is totally
without foundation or truth."
In continuation of matters in relation to that
memorable earthquake, the Petaluma Anpix of
October 211th, said:
'• In this city the earthquake did little damage
outside of what was mentioned in last week's
paper. A brick kiln, in the lower part of town,
the property of C. A. Hough, sustained consid-
erable damage, there being about twenty thou-
sand brick broken. We have experienced
several shocks since, but none that compared in
severity with the one on Wednesday of last
week. The effect on San Francisco turns out
not to be so damaging as at first reported. ( )nly
five persons were killed outright. The damages
to property is quite large, and will probably
reach over two millions of dollars. In other
portions of the State, at San Jose. San Leandro,
Oakland, Napa, Ilaywoods and Gilroy the shock,
was more or less severe, doing considerable
damage and resulting in the loss of two or tliree
lives. At Sacramento and above tlie shock was
felt, but was comparatively light."
HISTORY OF SOl^OMA COUNTY.
189
CHAPTER XXI.
Extent of ekdwood forests — the lumber output of mills — Coloxel Armstrong's grove —
A MONSTER tree THE J>IG IjOTToM FORESTS, ETC.
IXTENDTNG from Mendocino southward
long the coast line of the county, to a
distance averaging about ten miles inland,
is a magniticent redwood belt of timber. There
are considerable quantities along Russian River
and tlieGualalaand at intermediate points, possi-
bly' one thousand millions of feet of lumber if all
the lumber is accessible.
The soil, generally throughoit this region is
very fertile. The valley's are mainly sandy loam,
the deposits of ages. The hillsides, usually
a dark loose mold of vegetable matter, some-
times with gravel, and clay and rocks. It would
seem as if the earth that produces this enor-
mous growth ought to raise almost any kind of
vegetation, and so far as tried, it does. There
is no better land in the State for general farming
purposes. Fruit, grapes, alfalfa, corn, vines,
etc., grow to perfection. The land too is cheap
as compared with other more vaunted localities.
But it is rough and laborious work to put these
raw clearings, left by the loggers, in shape for
the plow. Rears, apj)les, peaches, figs, grapes
and especially French prunes flourish in perfec-
tion, and produce with unbroken regularity.
It is a section of the State little heard from
heretofore and destined to become better
known.
To give the reader some idea of the resources
of tiie redwoods — what is left of them — it may
be stated that Occidental, Duncan's Mills and
Guerneville are villages which are sustained
mostly by saw-mills and lumber industries.
The daily average .shipments from Guerneville
are about eighteen carloads, of which ten are
lumber furnished by the Rig Bottom saw-mill.
The annual output of lumber, ties, posts, pickets,
shingles, cordwood, bark and piles is about half
a million dollars from these little stations on
Russian River. Near the mouth of the Gualala
River there is a fine mill, owning an immense
tract of 15,000 acres of timber, and making
extensive shipments.
NotwithstaTiding the great value of this tim-
l>er for exj)ort, its chief value is its proximity
to the Santa Rosa and Petaluma valleys, which
extend from fifty to sixty miles northward
from the Bay of San Francisco. Throughout
that entire country all the fencing and building
lias been furnished by thcs.' redwoods. The
first settlers went there and camped while they
made rails, shingles and ])ickets on Uncle Sam's
domain. It was common property. When the
first saw-mill was built by Powers on the river,
and after he had taken up the land, he was
powerless to keep the farmers of the valley from
HISTORY (iF SONOMA COUNTY.
felling the timber under his nose and carrying
it ott". Things are l)etter managed imw.
liedwodds are far taller than the xequoia
(jujantea of Calaveras, whicli do not attain a
greater heiglit than about 250 feet. J. umber
men have cut timber here,- and can still show it
in Big Bottom, over 350 feet high. The
diameter is less, ranging from saplings to 18
feet across the stump. Fifty acres of this heavy
timber lias been set apart for a public park by
Colonel Armstrong, with an extension of the
Donahue Itailroad leading to it, and completed
but for a link in the line crossing lands owned
by parties who will neither lease nor sell, near
the village of Guerneville. The road will doubt-
less be finished after resorting to the courts,
when future generations can have free access to
the picnic ground. It will be the last remnant
of a mighty forest before ten years, and the
nearest one accessible (seventy miles distant by
rail) to the city of San Francisco.
The Petaluma ^[/yus of October, 1S82, says:
" Some months ago mention was maile in the
Aiyii.'^ of the felling of a mammoth redwood
tree on the land of John Torrence, near Guerne-
ville, in this county. The following additional
particulars concerning this giant of the forest is
furnished us by Wm. L. Van Doren, of this
city: The standing heiglit of the tree was 34:7
feet, and its diameter, near the ground, was 14
feet. In falling the top was broken off 200 feet
distant from the stump, and up to the point of
breaking the tree was perfectly sound. From
the tree saw-logs were cut of the following
lengths and diameters: 1st, 14 feet long, 9 feet
diameter; 2d, 12 feet long, 8 feet diameter;
3d, 12 feet long, 7 feet 7 inches diameter; 4tli,
14 feet long, 7 feet G inches diameter; 5tli, 10
feet long, 6 feet 10 inches diameter; 7tli, 10
feet long, 6 feet 6 inches diameter; 8tli, 10 feet
long, feet 4 inches diameter; 9tli, 10 feet
long, feet 3 inches diameter; 10th, 18 feet
long, feet diameter; 11th, 12 feet long, 5 feet
10 inches diameter; 12tli, 18 feet long, 5 feet 6
inches diameter. It will thus be seen that 180
feet of this remarkable tree was converted into
saw-logs. As the length and diameter of each
log is given, the reader can. at leisure, figure
out the quantity of inch lumber the tree con-
tained. If, instead of being cut into lumber, it
had been worked up into seven foot pickets it
would have afforded fencing material to enclose
a good sized ranch."
A correspondent of the Healdsburg Fla<j,
who some years ago visited the saw-mill of
Guerne it Heald in the l^ig Bottom redwood
forest on Russian liiver, thus describes what he
saw :
"The mill has been running in its present
location about one year. It is a very substan-
tial and well arranged structure, the workman-
ship of ilessrs. Bagley and Goddart of this
town. It has a new 48-horse power engine,
14 cylinders and 18 inch stroke, and runs a
double circle saw — the lower one 02 and the
upper one 70 inches — edger and planer. The
capacity of the mill is 20,000 feet per day.
The mill is twenty miles from Healdsburg by
the road — about twenty-five miles by the course
of the river. J. W. Bagley is head sawyer.
We remained but one niglit at the mill, and the
next morning penetrated into the foi-est for the
pur])ose of seeing one of the resources of
Sonoma County — her redwoods. Three and a
half miles from the mills we found • Outch
John " making shingles. This stalwart speci-
men of Teutonic muscle eats, sleeps, cooks,
lives and battles with the giants of the forests
alone. Sometimes he does not see a human
form or hear a human voice, but his own, for
weeks at a time. He has felled trees. Two
of them are nearly worked up, and he has now
on hand, made from them, over 200,000 shingles.
He informed us that on his place trees that
would make 180,000 shingles are common.
Some will go to 200,000. I applied the tape-
line to one tree that measured 07 feet in cir-
cumference two feet above the ground. This
monster of the forest measures nearly 200 feet
in height to the first limb, at which point it is
about ten or twelve feet through. Mr. Bagley
made a calculation upon this huge trunk, from
HTSTOAT of SONOMA COUNTY.
191
wliicli lio says it would cut 180,000 feet of
luiulicr, make pickets to fence a ten acre lot
and fifty cord of wood. The Plaza church in
IlealdBljurg is 80x40 feet, and has a steeple 20
feet higli; it contains aI)out 30,000 feet of lum-
ber. This tree, then, would cut luinf)er enough
to make six such buildings.
" Near Ileald's mill is a very large tree, kuowji
as 'The Htable,' which is hollow at the ground,
inside of which a man can stand upright and walk
fifteen feet. It measures inside twenty seven feet
across, and is capaljle of staliliiig twelve horses,
with a haymow to supply them for one winter.
" Not far from this is the ' Bean Pole.' This
is a large tree, but it is somewhat tall. A meas-
urement taken by professional mechanics gives
this sprout a height of 844 feet. This is one of
the finest bodies of timber on the coast, and is
of a superior quality.
" Mr. J. G. Dow has taken a section of the bark
from around one of these trees — thirteen feet in
diameter — in pieces three feet long and one foot
wide, which may be set up .like the staves of a
tub, showing the size of the tree. This bark is
from live to ten inches thick, lie also had a
piece of bark six feet long and about two feet
wide, which is twenty inches thick, lie designs
taking these barks East for exhibition. They
will be on exhibition at the Mechanics' Pavilion
in San Francisco during the fair this fall. He
will perhaps give the people of llealdsburg, who
may wish it, an opportunity of seeing this won-
derful. growth before removing it to the city. He
has had the tree photographed and will have for
sale the pictures, in sizes to suit the wishes of all.
" We visited the Steamer Jititei'prise, lying one
mile below the mill. Captain King is quite
confident that he will visit llealdsburg by steam-
er before Christmas. Says he intends next sum-
mer to make regular trips three times a week to
llealdsburg. Next Saturday he intends making
his first trip to the mouth of the river."
In speaking of these redwood forests, J. P.
Munro-Frascr a few years ago penned the follow-
ing in reference tn the lumbiTing business in
Ocean Township:
"There are several very large saw-mills in
this townshij), in fact, there is more mill capac-
ity in it than in any other in the county at the
present time, aggregating about 150,000 feet
daily. The Duncan's Mill Land ami J^umbcr
Association's mill will cut 30,000 feet a day.
The mills owned by the llussian River J^and
and Lumber Association at Moscow, Tyrone,
Russian River Station, and at other points in
the Howard Canon, will eacli cut 30,000 feet
daily; none of the mills belonging to the last-
named association are running at the present
time, but the mill of the first named is in ope-
ration. To give a history of Duncan's mill, we
must needs go back to the pioneer days both of
California and of saw-milling. In 1840 a num-
ber of carpenters, employed in the erection of
the barracks at Beuicia, conceived the idea of
forming into a company and starting a saw-mill.
Lumber at that time was worth $;300 per 1,000
feet, and of course at that rate the business
would pay far better profits than even mining.
The company was organized under the name of
the Blumedale Saw-mill and Lumber Company,
in honor of F. G. Blume, of whom they leased
the timber land. It was located on Ebabias
Creek, in Analy Township, a few miles east of
the present site of Freestone. Clias. McDer-
mot was president, and John Bailiff, secretary
of the company. They formed the company
and rented the land in 1848, but it was not un-
til November of 1840 that the mill was got into
operation, but by this time the price of lumber
had so materially decreased, and the expense of
getting it to market was so great, that but little
lumber was ever cut by this company. In 1850
General George Stoiieman (then lieutenant),
Joshuallendy, and Samuel Al. Duncan purchased
the property of the Blumedale Mill and Lumber
Company, and continued to run it at that place
until the spring of 1852. In the meantime,
however, either late in 1851 or early in 1852,
Stoneman disposed of his interest to his part-
ners, and they continued in business under the
firm name of Ilendy A: Duncan.
In 1852 Messrs, Ucndy iV Duncan moved
193
HTSTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
their mill to a mining camp known as Yankee
Jim's. Here they remained a year, and in 1858
tlie macliineiy was moved to Michigan Blutt's,
another mining town. In 1854 they brought
the machinery back to Sonoma County, locating
at Salt Point, and establishing the first steam
saw-mill in Sonoma County, north of Russian
[liver. Up to this time the capacity of the mill
had only l)een 5,000 feet per day, but the new
boilers were procured, making it a sixteen-horse
power engine, and increasing the capacity to
12,000 feet a day. In 1855 Joshua Ilendy dis-
posed of his interest to Alex. Duncan, and un-
der the firm name of Duncan IJrothers, the bus-
iness was conducted very successfully at this
point until 1860, when the mill was moved to
the old mill site near the mouth of Kus?ian
River.
While at Salt I'oint they sawed 30,000,000
feet of lumber, being an average of 5,000,000
per year. At the time the mill was moved to
Russian Ri\er, its machinery was greatly en-
larged and improved, and its capacity increased
to 25,000 per diem. While tiie mill was locat-
ed at this place, tliey cut about 100.000,000 feet
of lumber. No one has any conception of what
those figures mean, or how much luml)er it is;
yet even that great number would iiave been
greatly increased, had it not been that almost
every year large quaTi titles of logs were carried
out to sea during the freshets. The winter of
1862 was the worst, carrying away probaljly
7,000,000 feet of lumber in the logs. It seemed
almost impossible to construct booms strong
enough to withstand the mighty force of the
raging floods of water. In 1877 the Duncan's
Mill Land and Lumber Association was formed,
and the mill moved to its present location. At
that time it was enlarged to a capacity of 35,-
000 feet per day. whicli is about the greatest
capacity of any mill in this section. The ma-
cliinery in the mill consists of one pair of
doulde circular saws, each sixty inches in diam-
eter; one pony saw, forty inches in diameter;
one muley saw, capable of cutting a log eight
feet in diameter; two planing machines, one
picket lieader, one shingle machine, together
with edgers, jointers, trimmers, and all the nec-
essary machinery and appliances for conducting
the business of sawing and working up lumber
ex]>editioiisly.
We will now give a detailed description of
the modux operandi of converting monster
redwood trees into lumber, as we saw it done
at this mill. We will begin with the tree
as it stands on the mountain side. The
woodsman chooses his tree, then proceeds
to build a scaffold u]) Ijeside it tliat will
elevate him to such a height as he may de-
cide upon cutting the stump. Many of the
trees have been burned about tlie roots, or have
grown ill-shaped near the ground, so that it is
often necessary to build the scaffold from ten to
twenty feet liigh. This .scaffold, by the way, is
an ingenious contrivance. Notches are cut at
intervals around the tree at the proper height,
deep enough for the end of a cross-piece to rest
in securely. One end of the cross-piece is then
inserted in the notch, and the other is made fast
to an upright post, out some distance from the
tree. Loose boards are then laid upon these
cross-pieces, and the scaffold is completed. The
work of felling the tree then begins. If the
tree is above four feet in diameter an ax is used
with an extra long helve, when one man works
alone, but the usual method is for two men to
work together, one chopping "right-handed"
and the other "left-handed." When the tree
is once down it is carefully trimmed up as far
as it will do for saw-logs. A cross-cut saw is
now brought into re(juisition, which one man
plies with case in the largest of logs, and the
tree is cut into the reijuired lengths. The
logs are then stripped of their bark, which pro-
cess is accomplished sometimes by burning it
off. Then the ox-team puts in an apj)earance.
These teams usually consist of three or more
yoke of oxen. The chain is divided into two
parts near the end, and on the end of each
part there is a nearly right-angled hook. One
of these liooks is driven into either side of
the log, near the end next the team, and then,
HISTORY OP SONOMA COUNT F.
193
witli many a surge, a gee, and a liaw. and
an occasional (^) uatli, the log is drawn out tu
the main trail to the landing-place. If on
the road there should he any up hill, or other-
wise rough ground, the trail is frequently wet,
so that the logs may slip along more easily.
Once at the landing-place, the hooks at the end
of the ciiain are withdrawn, and the oxen move
slowly hack into the woods for another log.
The train has just come up, and our log, a great
eight-foot fellow, is carefully loaded on one of
the cars. As we go along the track on this
novel train on our road to the mill let us exam-
ine it a little. Beginning at the foundation, we
wilj look at the track first. We find that the
road bed has been well graded, cuts made where
necessary', fills made when practicable, and
trestle work constructed where needed. On the
ground are laid heavy cross-ties, and on them a
six by six square timber. On this an iron bar,
about half an inch thick and two and a half
inches wide, is spiked the entire length of the
track. The two rails are five feet and live inches
apart, and the entire length of the tramway is
five miles. Mow we come to the cars which run
on this (pieerly-constructed track. They are
made nearly scjuare, but so arranged that by
fastening them together with ropes a combina-
tion car of almost any length can be formed.
And lastly, but by no means the least, we come
to the peculiarly-contrived j)iece of machinery
which they call a "dummy," which is the motor
power on this railroad. This engine, boiler,
tender and all, stands on four wheels, each about
two and a half feet in diameter. They are con-
nected together on each side by a shaft. On the
axle of the front pair of wheels is placed a
large cog-wheel. Into this a very small cog-
wheel works, which is on a shaft, to which the
power of the engine is applied. There is an
engineer on either side of the boiler, and they
have a reverse lever, so that the dummy can go
one way as well as another. By the cog-wheel
combination great power is gained, but not so
much can be said for its speed, though a maxi-
mum of five miles an hour can be obtained. On
our way to the mill we passed through a little
village of shanties and cottages, which jiroved
to be the residences of the choppers and men
engaged in the woods. Farther on we pass
through a barren, deserted section, whence the
trees have all been cut years ago, and naught
but their blackened stumps stand now, grim ves-
tiges of the pristine glory of the forest prime-
val. Now we pass around a grade, high,
overhanging the river, and, with a grand
sweep, enter the limits of the mill-yard. (Jur
great log is rolled off the car on to the plat-
form, and in his turn passes to the small car
used for drawing logs up into the mill. A
long rope attached to a drum in the mill is
fastened to the car, and slowly, but surely, it
travels up to the platform near the saw. Our
log is too large to go at once to the double cir-
cular, hence the "muley,'' a long saw, similar
to a cross-cut saw. oidy it is a rip saw, and
stands perpendicular, must rip it in two in the
middle to get it into such a size that the double
circular can reach through it. This is rather
a slow process, and as we have nearly thirty
minutes on our hands while waiting for our
log to pass through this saw, let us i)ay a visit
to the shingle machine. This we find on a
lower floor. The timlter out of which shingles
are made is cut into triangular or wedge-
shaped pieces, about four feet long, and about
sixteen inches in diameter. These are called
"bolts.'" The first process is to saw them off
into proper lengths. These blocks are then
fastened into a rack, which passes by a saw, and
as the rack passes back a ratchet is brought into
requisition, which moves the bottom of the
block in toward the saw, just the thickness of
the thick end of the shingle and the top end
to correspond with the thickness of the thin
end. The l)lock is then shoved past the saw,
and a shingle is made, except that the edges are
of course, rough, and the two ends probably not
at all of the same width. To remedy all this,
the edge of the shingle is subjected to a trim-
mer, when it becomes a first-class shingle.
They are packed into bunches, and arc tlien
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
ready fur tlio market. We will now return to
(lur ki^-. It lias just lieen run back uii the car-
ria>j;e, an<l awaits further processes. A rope at-
tached to aside drum is made fast to one-half of
it, and it is soon lying on its back on the car-
riage in front of the double circular saws.
Through this it passes in rapid rotation till it
is sawed into l)road slabs of the proper thick-
ness to make the desired lumber. It is then
jia^sed alonjj^ on rollers to the "pony'" saw,
when it is a^•ain cut in jiieces of lumber of dif-
ferent sizes as required, such as two by four,
four by four, four by si.\, etc. It is then piled
u]«)ii a truck and wheeled into the yard, and
piled up ready for the market. The other half
of the log is sawed into boards, three-quarters
of an inch thick. At-the "pony'" saw, part of it
is ripi)ed into boards, ten inches wide, and part
into plank, four inches wide. The boards, ten
inciies wide, pass along to a planing machine,
and it comes out rustic siding. The four-inch
plank passes through another planing machine,
and comes out tongued and grooved ceiling.
The heavy slabs which we saw come off the
tirst and second time the saw passed through
are cut into different lengths, and sawed into
the right size for pickets. They are then passed
through a planer, then througii a picket-header,
a machine with a series of revolving knives,
wliich cut out the design of the picket-head the
same as the ditierent niembersof a molding are
cut out. Thus have we taken our readers
through the entire piocess of converting the
mighty forest monarchs into lumber. We
hojie we have succeeded in making the dcsci'ip-
tion of the process, in a small measure at least,
as interesting to our readers as it was to us
wlien, for the first time, we witnessed it. AVheti
you have witnessed the process of making lum-
ber in one mill you have seen it in all, with the
e.xception of here and there a minor detail.
There are but few mills which use a "dum-
my" engine to draw their logs to the mill,
most of them using iiorses or cattle on the
tramwavs. The lumber and wood industi'ies
of this township will always n.iake it of con-
siderable importance, and a prosperous future
may reasonably be expected.
In reference to these redwood forests, the
engineer of the California State Board of For-
estry recently said:
'• r am indebted to J. AV. Jiagley, C. E. of
Guerneville, for interesting figures, lioth as to
the size of trees, and yields of redwood lumber
near that formerly famous vicinity. Mr. Hag-
ley measured one tree 84!) feet nine inches in
height, and another nineteen feet in diameter
underneath the bark, and states that the yield
of one measured acre scaled in milled lumber
1,431,530 feet board measure."
There are thousands of acres that will yield
this amount. During the past few years many
thousand acres of redwood timber land, as fast
as surveyed, have been taken by individuals in
160 acre locations under the act peculiar to
the Pacific States and Territories, for tlie sale
of public timber lands, and under the home-
stead and pre-emption laws. Tracts from 160
to 640 acres in extent of land as good as any
that has yet been cut over, can be found in the
hands of the original locators, for sale at prices
varying with the individual financial needs or
business shrewdness of the owners. To secure
larger tracts, however, requires a constantly in-
creasing amount of perseverance, energy and
capital, in consolidating these small holdings.
The exports of redwood from California have
until within two or three years, been merely
nominal, and yet with only the local demand,
over one-third of the redwood timber area has
been cut. As an evidence of the growing scar-
city of the wood, we will mention that around
Guerneville, in Sonoma County, the price of
stumpage has appreciated to ^-4.50 per 1,000
feet. Eight hundred acres at Willow Gulch,
in Sonoma County, were sold some time ago by
the -North Pacific Coast Ilailroad Company, to
Mr. A. Markham, of Duncan's Mills, at the
rate of $3.00 ]ier 1,000 feet stumpage. This
tract, it is estimated, will cut 100,000,000 feet.
IIISTORT OF -.SONOMA COUNrT.
^^&>s®=^..
Pk
Names Belonging to Histoey. i^
-•^-^F-
(^ji)
CHAPTER XXII.
PKK-IDKNr RuTIIKRKORn I). IIaYK-<, (tENKKAI, Wlf.LIA^r T. SlIKKMAX AND SkcBKTARV <iF WaK,
Ar.liXANDKB IlAM-iKV CuI.ONKL RoD MaTIIKSOX — JullX MlLLEU CaMKKOX SaI.MI M'HtSE.
X tliu I'ctiiluiiia AnjKS of Septeiiilier lOtli,
<]1 1880, the' folluwiiig iiieiitioii is made of
-V several di.-jtiiiguislieil visitors to Sonoma
(Joiiiity;
" According to aunouncumeiit I'resideat
Hayes and party, together with Governor Per-
kins and staff, arrived in this city at 11 o'clock
a. m., Friday. The news ot" their coming had
been widely made known both ijy telegraph
and the daily Anjas, and as was to be expected
there was attracted to Petaluma the largest con-
course of people ever seen here before. At an
early hour the people came pouring in from all
parts of the surrounding country, and from
every part of this and contiguous counties easy
of access to railroads. On the arrival of the
cars from San Rafael conveying our dis-
tinguished visitors, together with the commit-
tee of our citizens who met them at San Rafael
to escort them up, a jjresident's salute of twen-
ty-one guns was tired from the eminence at the
western end of Washington street. While the
cannon was looming forth a welcome, the pro-
cession, consisting of a long train of coaches
and carriages of all kinds, moved through our
streets in the direction of the fair grounds.
The |)rocessioii was led by the Petaluma Cornet
Hand, llewston (Guards, St. Vincent Cadets and
the Swiss Society. The carriage in which Pres-
ident Hayes rode was drawn by four elegant
caparisoned iiorses; tiien followed carriages with
(feneral Slieririan, Secretary li.imsey, Ciovernor
Perkins, Burchard Hayes, Colonel John AIc-
Comb and other distinguished visitors. The
streets along which the procession moved were
a perfect cloud of banners. Considering the
short notice, we have reason to feel proud of
our city's holiday attire. Arriving at the grand
stand a large number present paid their respects
to and took by the hands our national digni-
taries. When the first flutter of excitement
had passed, and the vast audience had become
settled, Hon. J. McM. Shafter, in a few well-
timed and elo(^uent i-emarks, referred to the dis-
tinguished gentlemen present on the stand, and
introduced President Hayes, who was received
with hearty applause. Mr. Hayes spoke about
an hour a'ld his expression of encomium and
sallies of wit called forth repeated ajiplause.
Secretary of War Alexander Ramsey, was next
inti'oduced, and made a pungent speech of about
fifteen minutes, which produced both mirth and
applause. General Wm. T. Sherman was next
presente<l and hailed with enthusiastic applause.
His speech was short, and related mainly to his
visit to this part of the Pacific Coast in 1848.
TheCieneral expressed his utter astonishment at
the change that has taken place in thirty years.
Governor Perkins, who was to delivei- the an-
nual address of the fair, was then iiitroduceil,
and spoke for about half an hour in a vein
which kept the audience in a continuous uproar
of merriment, lie exhiliited tjic adilress in
nninuscript, wliii-h lie bad iiiteiiile(| u> (jeliver.
llISToHY (IF SONOMA COi'NTY.
but said it would answer for some other fair,
and he would, like the gentlemen who preceded
him, rest content witli an extemporaneous eilbrt.
After witnessing the races, our visitors repaired
to the residence of Professor E. S. Lippitt,
where lunch was served, and at four oVdock, \:
M., were escorted to tlie cars and departed for San
Francisco. This is necessarily but brief mention
of an event whicli will long be remembered by
our citizens as a noted day in l^etaluma.
Cill,ONEI. KOI) MATUESllX.
Wiien civil war came it found Rod Matlieson
the principal of an academy he had established
at Ilcaldsburg in this county. From tlie very
outset he had identified himself with tlie Free
Soil party and when the civil war came, incited
as lie believed by the slave power, lie was not
long in determining tliat his duty lay at the
front. Taking his life in his hand he went
forth to battle for tlie right, as God gave him
to see the right. His intelligence and dash
marked him fur a leadfer, and he was made
Colonel of the First California (Tliirty-secoml
New York) llegiment. lie led his regiment in
the memorable battle of South Mountain on the
14th of October, 1S()2. Like the true and
bi-ave man that he was, although in tlie face of
defeat and disaster, he only left the field when
borne away " on his shield.'" The following com-
memorative of his worth and the esteem in which
he was held by ins neighbors and fellow-citizens
legitimately belongs to Sonoma County history.
In September, 18(51, a war coirespondent of
the San Francisco Alt<( wrote: •' 1 visited Hod
Matheson"s regiment, composed alinust exclu-
sively of returned Californians, and a finer body
of men I never saw. They are drilled like
veterans, and have a happy facnlty of getting
along better than most uf the other regiments
about them. 1 was impressed into their service
for four days, and became the guest of tlie
Colonel and Major l-"rank Lemon. They seem
to live off tiie fat of the land, have a theatrical
company among their members, a band of
serenaders, and seem to have more fun going on
in their encampment, than all the others put
together. Strict discipline, while on diity, is
maintained, and the men appear cheerful and
contented. George Wilkes and Tom IJattel.
and other choice spirits, make tliis regiment
their headcpiarters. At the battle of Bull Run,
about 150 outsiders, all Californians, well armed,
did duty as irregulars with the regiment. It
rendered the most effective service in covering
the retreat of the Union forces, dro\e back the
pursuing secession cavalry, and were the last
to return to Alexandria, which they di<l not
till the next day, in good order, saving 150
wagons, most of the artillery, and the best por-
tion of the baggage. The}' elected Matlieson
General pro fuu.^ when ever}' other (reneral had
left the field, and being joined by Col. IJlen-
ker's (ierman regiment, succeeded in holding
in check any attempt of the rebels to pursue.
These two regiments, alone, saved several mill-
ions worth of property. They had a battery of
liglit artillery in the command, and did good
service with it. They lost none killed, but sev-
era Islightly wounded."
The death of Col. Rod Mathesun. and the
events preceding and following it are thus
described in Washington correspondence of the
New York Ilerahl, dated October 5, 18ti2:
"The body of Col. Matlieson, of the First
(Jalifoi'Tiia (Thirty-second New York) Regiment,
was brom/ht here and embalmed to-day by Doc-
tor> Ibiiwn and .Mexander. Col. ^[athesmi was
wiiundfd while leading his regiment in the
meiiKirable battle of South Mountain, on the
l-lth lilt. It was found impossible to shell the
rebels out of Coinpton (/iap, and General Slocum
determined, after consulting with his I'rigadier
(xenerals, to take by assault with iiit'antry the
mountain which commanded the gap. It was
one of the most brilliant atiairs of the war. The
division cliarged up the steep mountain side, on
which the rebels were posted behind three stone
walls, with batteries placed on the crest of the
mountain. The division, composed of l>artlett's,
Newton's an<l Torbett"s brigades, advanced in
line steadily up the hill under a terrible fire,
HIsrollY OF tiONoMA VOliNTT.
197
forming upon tlieir colors after passing tlie bar-
riers successfully, and drove the rebels from the
]iositiun. A rebel J\[ajor who was wounded and
t.iken prisonei', said the}' had been told that the
Union troops to come against them were green;
but when they saw their steady advance, in
which they moved as if on dress parade, the
word ran through the rebel lines: ' These are
no recruits — these are from that damned old
Army of the Potomac.' In this'charge Colonel
Matheson was wounded, while in front of his
regiment calling them on. A ball lacerated the
arteries of his right leg and fractured the bone.
He died of secondary hemoi'rhage.
" Tiie Californians in this e,\ty met to day at
the residence of Mr. William Dayton, and passed
resolutions expressing their sense of the high
cliaracter and gallant conduct of Colonel Mathe-
son. Senator McDougall, who presided, paid
an eloquent tribute to the excellent qualities of
the deceased, and Cajjtain Fish, of the First
California Regiment, spoke feelingly in praise of
his late commander.
" Atameeting of Californians now here. Sena-
tor McDougall, chairman, the following named
gentlemen of this city were a])pointed a com-
mittee to receive the remains of the gallant
dead: Messrs. C. K. Garrison, (4eorge Wilkes,
W. T. Coleman, Warren J-eland, Charles X.
Stetson and Alfred E. Tiiton. These gentle-
men are expected to meet at the Astor House
on Sunday to make the necessary arrangements
to carry into effect the part assigned them.
"The body will be conveyed to New York
this afternoon, where it will lie in state a few days
before l)eing carried to San Francisco for burial.'"
When tlie news of the <lcath of Colonel Math-
eson reached Ilealdsburg on < )ct(ibcr 24, 1802,
a public meeting was at once called, which was
presided over by Captain L. A. Norton — J. J.
Maxwell, secretary — at which the following
action was taken:
On motion of i)r. I'iper a conimittee of five
was appointed to draft resr)lutions expressive
of the feeling of the meeting. The |]iesi(lcnt
appointed Dr. Tiper, Ju<lge Spencer, J. .J. .May,
J. A. Bagley, and the president was added by
the meeting.
The president said he would bu glad to hear
from the gentlemen present. Mr. Fenno, in
behalf of the Sotoyome Guards, of which Col-
onel Matheson was a member, moved that the
membei-s of the guard wear mourning upon the
right arm thirty days in memory of the deceased.
Kemarks were offered by various gentlemen
present, after which the committee on resolutions
made the following report which was adopted:
WnicKEAs, Recent telegraphic dispatches have
contirnied therumored death of our fellow-towns-
man, Colonelllod Matheson, while bravely and
heroically defending the honor of onr national
tlag; therefore,
liexidi'ed, That we bow submissively to this
atHictive dispensation of Divine Providence,
and in common with others, nionni the loss of
a pure patriot.
Rcsiili-ed, That in the death of Colonel
Matheson, the nation has lost a brave defender,
the army an etttcient othcer and daring soldier,
the people of California one who has nobly rep-
resented them on the field of battle, his parents
a ilutiful son, his wife an affectionate husband,
his children a kind and indulgent parent, and
the people of Sonoma a worthy citizen, whose
name will be long cherished and honored.
liesoli'ctl, That we sincerely and heartily
sympathize with the family of the deceased in
their deep atHiction, and that a committee be
a])pointe(l by this meeting to tender them the
sympathy of this meeting, and a copy of these
resolutii)ns.
Ri'siilr,',!, That a committee of three be ap-
pointed to confer with the mayorof the city of San
Francisco with regai-d to the conveyaTice of there-
mains of the deceased to this place for interment.
A committee to report the proceedings ot
this meeting to the widow was appointed by
the president. William i)ow,.ludge Spencer and
P. Griost. were a])j)oiiitcd on that (;c.mmittee.
Committee ap|>ointed liy the jiresident lo
confer with the mayor cjI' San Francisco: Mr.
Ilhjoni, Mr. I'iehls and .I..J. May.
198
IlISTOHY OF 60N0UA COUNTY.
In the Petaluma Argus of xsovember 12,
1862, the following appeared:
"On Thursday evenint^ last tlie remains of
Colonel IJoderick Matlieson, who died troiii
wounds roeeired at the battle of Cheat Moun-
tain, Octoljer '2d, arrived in San Francisco on
the steamer Sonora. The remains of the fallen
hero were borne to i'latt's Ilall and laid in
state, whither vast throngs of people repaired
to take a last look at all that remained of the
lamented Matlieson. The funeral pageant was
solemn and imposing. Rev. Starr King deliv.
ered the funeral oration on Saturday, after which
the body was conducted aboard of the steamer
PcUiluind with due milit.iiry and civic lionors.
'•The steamer /'e^<?^««i'« with the remains of
Colonel Matlieson, in charge of a detachment
of the National (Guards, of San Francisco,
reached her landing, below the city, at 7 o'clock
Saturday evening. His remains were escorted
to this city from the boat by the Healdsbnrg
Band, retaluma Gurds, Emmet Rifles and eight
pall-bearers, consisting of E. F. Dunne, Will-
iam Ordway, Captain Creorge E. Lovejoy,
George Campbell, T. K. Wilson, F. D. Coltoii,
II. L. Weston and Samuel Cassiday. .Night
had cast her sable mantle over the earth, thus
lending additional solemnity to the occasion.
The plaintive strains of the funeral marches
played by the band floated mournfully on the
still night air; with slow ami measured tread the
procession entered our city, and passing up
Main street halted in front uf ^[(-('une's Ilall.
Tiie pall-bearers received the cothn from the
hearse and bearing it up the flight of stairs to
the hall, ]ilaced it on the eatafahjue prepared foi'
the occasion. A guard of honor was detailed,
and stationed in the hall, after which the cottin
was opened, and for several hours there was a
throng of visitors to look at the corpse of the
gallant soldier whose life has l)een sacriflced
upon the altar of his country. Although con-
siderably emaciated the features of the deceased
had not undergone sufficient change to prevent
thosewhokncw him from recogniziiifj his familiar
face.
" About 9 o'clock Sunday morning, the pro-
cession was again formed — the coffin was placed
in the hearse and escorted out of the city. A
detachment of the Petaluma (iuards, in con-
iunction with the detachment from the National
(iiiards, proceeded witli the body to Ilealdsliurg.
Six pall-bearers, selected by the citizens of
Santa Rosa, met and escorted the corpse to the
2)laza, in that town, where an appropriate ad-
dress was delivered by General O. Hinton. Tlie
procession again took up its line of march for
liealdsburg. arriving at tlie residence of the
lamented Roderick Matheson at 8 o'clock in
the evening. The citizens of liealdsburg had
made every necessary preparation to pay suita-
ble honor to the memory of their esteemed
fellow-citizen, who was to lind a last resting
place in their midst. At 11 o'clock on Monday,
the Rev. Mr. Thomas, of San Francisco, deliv-
ered an appropriate and touching funeral dis-
course, after which the body of Colonel
Matheson was consigned to its mother earth,
and a military salute flred over his grave.
" He sleeps his last sleep, he has fought his last baule.
Xo sound can awake him to glory again."
.loHN yi. CAMEKOX.
The following sketch of the life of John Mil-
ler Cameron, who, together with his wife, re-
poses in the Sebastopol Cemetery, is worthy a
place in this history, not only on account of liis
own merits and Worth, but because in his family
young Abraham Lincoln made his home, all un-
conscious of the measure he was to till in the
drama of life. In all the histories of Lincoln
mention is made i)f his residence witli the Cam-
eron family:
" Rev. John Miller Cameron, a resident of
Sebastopol, Sonoma County, California, and a
minister of the gospel in I'acific Presbytery, of
the C.'umberland Presbyter/an Church, was born
in Elbert County, Georgia, on the 12th of
August, 17111, and died at his residence at Se-
bastopol, Sonoma (bounty, after a painful and
distressing aflliction of two months, on the 12th
of February, 1878, being eighty-six years, six
months and nine days old,
IITSTORY OP SONChUA COUNTY.
" The deceased went with his t'atlieraud i'umily,
while a youth, to Kentucky, in the year 1S04.
and settled near the mouth of the Green River,
in Henderson County, at which place he was
married to IMary (^reiidorrt', in l>Sll; from
which place he removed to the Territoi'y of Illi-
nois, and settled in what is now White (Jonnty,
in 1813. He removed from there to JJellviliu,
in St. Clair County, in ISKJ, and from there to
Sangamon County in 1818. This last move
was made about the time Illinois was admitted
into the Union. He stopped for a time near
Springfield, after whicli he settled on Uock
Creek, in the same county. lie was at the time
a candidate for the ministry in the bounds of
Sangamon Presbytery, and about the year 1827
was licensed to preach, and devoted the principal
part of his life-time to the ministry until 1S32,
when he removed to Fulton County, Illinois,
where he was instrumental in buildino; up seve-
ral church organizations. He remained there
until 1887, when he removed to the Territory
of Iowa, and settled in Jefferson County, whei-e
he was instrumental in building several more
church organizations. Shortly after the admis-
sion of the State into the Union, he again re-
moved to Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa,
and at that place built up an organization and
erected the first house of worship in the place,
devoting a portion of his time to preaching in
the counties of Mahaska, Wa'pello, Van Huren,
Jefferson, Ivcokuk, Henry, Jasper and others.
He was always punctual in attendance to the
appointments of the church, and seldom failed
to meet his own. In the spring of 1840 he
started with his family across the plains to (,'al-
ifornia, and arrived at a place known as Fre-
mont about the 1st of October the same year,
remaining there but a short time. He then
went to Sacramento, wiierc lie remained during
the winter. In the summer of 185(J he removed
to Martinez, preaching occasionally until the
fall of 1851, when he removed to Sonoma ('oun-
ty, near the present town of Sebastopol, where
he purchased a farm, on which he has since re-
sided. He was set a])art to the whole wf)rk of
the ministry by California I'l-esbylery of tlie
Cumberland Fresbyterian Church in 1854, after
which his time was mostly spent in visiting
destitute places, preaching and organizing
churches, and after the organization in visiting
and supplying said chui'cjies, until prevented by
affliction and extreme old age.
•' His wife died after a short illness, at her home
in Sonoma County, on the 25th of March, 187t'),
at the advanced age of eighty-two years. He
and his wife had eleven children — ten daughters
and one son. Nine of the daughters are still
living, all but one in California. Thomas Por-
ter Cameron, his son, was killed by the explo-
sion of the steamer Secretary in 1854, near San
F]-ancisco. One daughter, the wife of A. Mc
Namer, died at the family home in 1855; one
resides with her family near Cincinnati; the
others are Mrs. Judge B. B. Berry, Mrs. S. M.
Martin. Mrs. liev. B. JS'. i'onham and Mrs. C.
Purvine, of Sonoma County; Mrs. Judge T. A.
Brown, of Contra Costa County; Mrs. Hr. B.
B. I'onham, of Butte County; Mrs. Henry Lys-
tor, of Monterey County and Mrs. Cynthia War-
ner, of Petaluma, the widow of the son deceased.
The deceased liad at the time of his death filty-
one grand-children and sixty-live great-grand-
children. Since the deatli of the wife of tic-
ceased, he has seemed to be broken down in
spirits, discontented, lonely and dejected.
Father Cameron was eminently a pioneer at the
time of his settlement in Illinois in 1813, in
Iowa in 1837, and in California in 1849; those
States respectively not having been admitted
into tiie Union. His life has been spent upon
the frontier, and his occupation practically to
clear the way for those who would follow. He
was a devoted husband, kind and affectionate
fathci' and generous neighbor. He died as he had
lived, faithful to every obligation; was beloved
Ijy all who knew him, and a large number of rel-
atives ;ind friends mourn hisloss. He wasamem-
ber 111' the Masonic fraternity about fifty years."
SAI.MI MoliSi:.
The Petal nma Arytis of March 1, 1884. said
editorially: •' On last Saturday a telegraphic dis-
iriSTOnY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
patch from JS'ew York announced tiie liii(iingol'the
body of Salmi Morse in tlie Hudson River under
circumstances strongly indicating deliberate sui-
cide. For several years past the name of Salmi
Morse has been prominently before the people of
United States in connection with his persistent the
etforts to gain for his " Passion I'lay," the right
of exhil)ition. His long and fruitless struggle
to achieve this end in New York City is familiar
to all who keep posted on the current news of
our country, but we hazard little in saying that
many persons in Sonoma and adjoining counties
who personally knew Mr. Morse, have never
once thought of associating him with the Salmi
Morse of ' Passion Play ' fame. The attention
of the writer was first attracted to Mr. Morse
at a Methodist camp-meeting, near Liberty
school house in this county, the summer of
either 1856 or 1857. After the usual sermon
the exercises consisted in alternate singing and
prayer. A call was made for Brother Morse to
lead in prayer. As is usual in Methodist meet-
ing the entire membership assumed a kneeling
posture, when Mr. Morse, a man small in
stature and bald-headed, stepped upon a bench
and with his head thrown back, delivered a very
earnest, eloquent invocation, to which emphasis
was given l)y a rapid forward and backwai-d
movement of the head. At that time we got
the impression that he either was or iiad been
a Baptist minister. Time sped on and in a few
years we were involved in civil war. Mr. Morse
was a Unionist of the most radical type. He
contributed many communications to the Argus
on national politics. He was a vigorous and
forcible writer, but so ultra that even the Argus,
accounted among the most radical of journals,
often found it necessary to tone down and ex-
tract some of the vinegar and gall from his
articles. His whole soul seemed to be wrought
up to a white heat of righteous indignation over
the iniquity of human slavery, and he never
seemed to tire in anathematizing that accursed
institution. He was a frequent visitor of the
Argus sanctum dnriiig war time, and lie never
departed without leaving it vapory with his in-
vective against those who were trying to found
a government with human slavery as its 'chief
corner-stone.' He was a great reader, and
evidently a close student of the Bible. One of
his most telling shots was the calling the atten-
tion of the ri'aders of the Argus to the 12th
chapter of Nnmliers as an unanswerable refu-
tation of the pro-slavery theoiy that the black
race was to be servile and despised on acconnt
of the curse of God visited upon Ham and
his descendants. During the closing j'ears cif
the civil war, Mr. Morse had a ranch in the
upper part of Mendocino County, from whence
he sent occasional contributions to the Argus.
That his ranching business was not a financial
success will readily be inferred from the fact
that in the spring time of each year he usually
came to the lower valleys and devoted his
time to grafting and budding fruit trees.
From and after 186t) the Argus lost sight of
Mr. Morse for more than a decade, and only had
knowledge of him again when there w-as a
furor over the introduction of the ' Passion
Play' in San Francisco. H was during this
lapse of years, probably, that he traveled
abroad and visited the Holy Land, from whence
he drew the inspiration for his biblical play.
His career has certainly l)een a most checkered
one. Earnest and zealous in all his undertak-
ings, his life became essentially a ' warfare.'
Even before his great life struggle had fairly
begun, there was a glint to his eyes, when
aroused to earnestness on any subject, that be-
tokened a brain very sensitive to morbid influ-
ences. His was not an organism fitted to
challenge the ' slings and arrows ' of a great
city like New York. What the outcome would
be was only a question of time. The time came
at the noon of night. On the one hand was the
city that he thought had wrongfully proscribed
the ' Passion Play,' the crowning work of his
life, and on the other the placid Hudson.
Of the latter Salmi Morse asked and received
rel)ii~e friun the moil of life."
EtSTOltY OF SONOMA COUNT y.
201
r
D
r:
-j-^at^^
J^'.
CHAPTER XXIII.
Animals xati\k of Sonuma Coixtv — gkizzi.v, urown and black ukak — paxthkr — fox —
WOLF COYOTE wrLD-CAI' l[(irXTAIN-CAT ELK. DEEl:, ANTELOPE, ICTC.
tITTELL, who is good authority, enumer-
ates the indigenous animals of California
as follows: The grizzly bear ; the black
bear ; the cinnamon bear; the elk ; one deer ;
one antelope ; the mountain-sheep; the panther ;
the wild cat ; the gray wolf ; the coyote ; three
foxes ; the badger ; the raccoon ; the opossum ;
the mountain-cat ; the weasel ; two skunks ; one
porcupine ; three squirrels ; two spermophiles ;
two ground-squirrels ; three rats ; three jumping-
rats ; one jumping-monse ; nine mice ; one mole;
three hares ; two rabbits ; the seal ; the sea-
otter ; the sea-lion ; the beaver ; two vultures ;
the golden eagle ; the bald eagle ; the tislih;iwk;
eighteen other hawks ; nine owls ; the road-
runner ; twelve woodpeckers ; four humming-
birds ; eleven tlyeatchers ; one hundred and
nine singers ; one pigeon ; two doves ; three
grouse ; three quails ; one sandhill crane ; forty-
one waders ; sixty-six swimmers, including two
swans and five geese ; about two dozen snakes,
including the rattlesnake ; half a dozen salmon ;
two codlish ; and one mackerel.
Of these, all were indigenous to Sonoma
(bounty except the oj)08sum, the jnmping-rats,
the mountain-sheej), and possibly a few varie-
ties of the birds and salmon. Our grizzly bear
(^f'rxii.t horriliiliti) is the largest an<l most
fnnniilablc of the (iiiadnijicds. lie grows to be
four feet high and seven feet long, with a weight,
when very large and fat, of a thousand pounds,
being the largest of the carnivorous animals,
and )nuch heavier than the lion or tiger ever
get to be. The grizzly bear, however, as ordi-
narily seen, does not exceed eight hundred or
nine hundred pounds in weight. In color the
l)ody is a light grayish-brown, dark brown about
the ears and along the ridge of the back, and
nearly black on the legs. The hair is long,
coarse, and wiry, and stiff on the top of the neck
and between the shoulders. The " grizzly." as
he is usually called, was at one time exceedingly
numerous for so large an animal ; but he offered
so much meat for the hunters, and did so much
damage to the farmers, that he has been indus-
triously hunted, and his numbers have been
greatly reduced. The grizzly is very tenacious
of life, and he is seldom immediately killed l)y
a siuirle bullet. His thick, wirv hair, toiiyfli
skin, heavy coats of fat when in good condition,
and large bones, go far to protect his vital
organs ; but he often seems to preserve all his
strength and activity for an hour or more after
having been shot through tlie lungs and liver
with large rifle balls. He is one of the most
d-angerous animals to attack. There is much
probability that wlicn shot he will not be killed
ontficrbt. Wlien mei'dy wounded he is fero-
IIISToHY OF SONOMA COUNrV
cious ; liis weight and strength are so great that
lie bears down all opposition before him ; and
he is very quick, his speed in running being
nearly equal to that of the horse. In attacking
a man, he usually rises on his hind-legs, strikes
his enemy with one of his powert'u! fore-paws,
and then commences to bite him.
The black bear ( Ursus Ameiicanns) is found
in the timbered portions of the county. Dr.
Newberry, speaking of the food of the black
bear, says: "The subsistence of the black bears
in the northern portion of California is evid-
ently, for the most part, vegetable. The man-
zanita, wild plum, and wild cherry, which fruit
profusely, and are very low, assist in making up
his bill of fare.
The brown, or cinnamon bear, is also common
to Sonoma County. The panther, supposed by
Dr. Jsewberry t(j be the Felis conrolor — the
same with the panther found on the Atlantic
slope of the continent — has a body larger than
that of the common sheep, and a tail more than
half the length of the body. Its color is dirty-
white on the belly, and elsewhere a brownish-
yellow, mottled with dark tips on all the hairs.
The panther is a cowardly animal, and, except
when driven by some extraordinary motive,
never attacks man. The jianther is nocturnal
in his habits, and always prefers the night as a
time for attacking colts, which are a favorite
prey with hiin.
Tlie American wild-cat {Lyn.r ruftis) is com-
mon here.
The gray wolf [L!anis occidcntalis) is found
here, but is not abundant.
The coyote used to be very common, and
occupied the same place here with that occupied
in tlie Mississippi Valley by the prairie-wolf. Dr.
Xewberry thinks the two belong to the same
species (( 'a /lis latrans). The color of the coyote
has a reddish tinge. His food consists chiefly
of rabbits, grouse, small birds, inice, lizzards,
and frogs ; and in time of scarcity he will eat
carrion, grasshoppers, and bugs. lie is very
fond of poultry, ])igs, and lambs, and will destroy
almost as nnuiy of tiiem as would a fnx. lie is
one of the worst eneiiiies and most troublesome
pests of the farmer.
The gray fox {Vu/j>es Virghi'nouis] is the
only animal of that species we know to exist in
Sonoma County, although many years ago, we
heard that a black fox had been killed in the
northern end of the county.
The American badger {Ta.cidea Americavr/)
used to be common here, but they are now
nearly extinct.
The black-footed raccoon (^Proycon hernande:;-
sii) is very common in the forests and along the
water courses of the county.
Of the yellow-haired porcupine [Erethison
epixantJnis), a few have been found in Sonoma
County, but they are very rare.
The mountain-cat, or striped bassaris [Bks-
saris astida), is occassionally found liere, but
are not numerous. The body is about the size
of that of the domestic cat, but the nose is vevy
long and sharp, and the tail very long and large.
The color of the animal is dark gray, with rings
of black on the tail. The miners call it the
"mountain-cat," and frequently tame it. It is
a favorite pet with them, becomes very playful
and familiar, and is far more atlectionate than
the common cat, which it might replace, for it
is very good at catching mice.
The yellow-cheeked weasel (^I'tdoriiix .nintho-
fjenyif) is found here, but are not numerous.
The common mink {Put<irini< r/.w/zlhasa"
skin as valuable as that of •the beaver ; the fin-
is of a dark, brownish, chestnut color, with a
white spot on the end of the chin. They exist
here, but are very rare.
California has two skunks (^Jlejy/titis orci-
denfalis and Mephitis bicolor'), very common
animals. The Jlejdiitis bicolor, or little stri])ed
skunk, is chiefly found south of latitude 3!)° ;
the other in the northern and central parts of
the State. The colors of both are black and white.
They both have a place in Sonoma C'ounty.
T/ie S<iuirrei Faiiidij. — The California gray
squirrel (iSciurui fossory the most beautiful
and one of the largest of the squirrel genus,
inhal>its all the jjine forests of tlie State. Its
nrsToRT OF sotroMA county.
203
color on tlio hack is a tiiiely-Lrfizzled l)luisli
fj;ray, and white, heneath. At tiie haso of the
ear is a little woolly tuft, of a chestnut culor.
The sides of tiie feet are covered with hair in
the winter, hut are l)are in the summer ; the
hod}' is more slender and delicate in sliape than
that of the Atlantic, gray squirrel. It some-
times erows to he twelve inches long in the head
and hody, and fifteen inches in the tail, making
the entire length twenty-seven inches. Dr.New-
herry says: "The t'alifornian gray squirrel is
eminently a tree-squirrel, scarcely descending to
the ground but for food and water, and it sub-
sists almost exclusively on the seeds of the
.largest and loftiest pine known (^2mius lamher-
tiana), the ' sugar-pine ' of the Western coast.
Tliese squirrels inhaliit the forests of Sonoma
County."
The Missouri striped ground-squirrel has five
dark-brown stripes on the iiack, separated by
four gray stripes; the sides are reddish-brown,
the belly grayish-white, and the tail rusty-black
above and rusty-brown beneath. The animal is
four or five inches long. It is found in the
northern part of the State. It eats acorns and
the seeds of the pine, inanzanita, and ceanothns,
in the thickets of which last-named bush it prefers
to hide its stores. This species of squirrel is
e.\ceedingly rare in Sonoma County.
The Sj)cr)iio2>hile has two species in Califor-
nia, which resemble each other so closely, that
they are usually sup])0sed to be the same; the}'
are popularly known as the California ground-
squirrels, the little pests which are so destruc-
tive to the grain crops. Their bodies arc ten or
eleven inches long in the largest specimens; the
tail is eight inches long and bushy, the ears
large, the cheeks pouched, and herein consists
the chief difference between them and squiri-els;
the color above black, yellowish lnown, and
brown, in indistinct mottlings, hoary-yellowish
on the sides of the head and neck, and pale yel-
lowish-brown on the under side of the body and
legs. They dwell in burrows, and usually live
in communities in the open, fertile valleys, pre-
fering to nnike their burrows under the shade of
an oak tree. Sometimes, iiowover, single spcr-
mophiles will be found living in a solitary man-
ner, remote from their fellows. Their burrows,
like those of the prairie-dog, are often used by
the rattlesnake and the little owl. Dr. New-
berry says: ''The}' are very timid, starting at
every noise, and on every intrusion into their
privacy dro])])ing from the trees, or hurrying in
from their wanderings, and scudding to their
hole's with all possible celerity; arriving at the
entrance, however, they stop to reconnoitre,
standing erect, as squirrels rarely and spermo-
philes habitually do, and looking about to satisfv
themselves of the nature and designs of the in-
truder. Should this second view justify their
flight, or a motion or step forward still further
alarm them, with a peculiar movement, like that
of a diving duck, they plunge into their bur-
rows, not to venture out till all cause of fear is
past. The scpiii'rels of this species were exceed-
ingly rare in Sonoma County until within the
past decade. They seem to have effected an en-
trance from the valleys to the east, and are iu>w
multiplying along the foot-hills of the Sonoma
range of mountains. The farmers, as yet, seem
not to realize the magnitude of the damage these
squirrels will ultimately accomplish.
The California gopher ( Thonionii/s: bidljirorus)
is the most al)iindant and most troublesome
rodent of the county. AVhen full grown, it has
a body six or eight inches long, with a tail of
two inches. The back and sides are of a chest-
nut-brown color, ])aler on the under parts of the
body and legs; the tail and feet are of grayish-
white; the ears are very short. In the cheeks
are large jjouches, covered with fur inside, white
to their margin, which is dark-brown.
Of rats and mice there are many species in
Sonoma County. There is very common in
the forests a wood-rat that builds conical-
shaped burrows l)y means of piling up sticks
and i)ramble. ^Ve have seen these rat houses
as much as ten feet in diameter at the base and
five or six feet high. Of mice there are many
species of both field and house pests. We have
seen here two or three specimens of the Jerboa
204
IIIf^rORY OF SONOAfA COUNTY.
family, called by some kangaroo mice, on ac-.
count of their great length of hind legs, from
whicli they spring, as does the kangaroo.
The American elk [Cermis atnadensix) used
to be ])lentifiil in Sonoma County, but is now
extinct. Tliis animal was nearly as hirge as u
horse. It freiiiiently readied the weight of
from six hundred to one thousand pounds.
The color was a chestnut-brown, dark on the
head, neck, and legs, lighter and yellowish
on the back and sides. The horns were very
large, sometimes more than four feet long, three
feet across from tip to tip, measuring three
inches in diameter above the burr, and weigh-
ing, with the skull, exclusive of the lower jaw,
forty pounds. The horns of the old bucks had
from seven to nine, perhaps more, i)rongs, all
o-rowing forward, the main stem running uj)-
ward and backward.
In Sonoma County there never were any
white-tailed liuei-, l)ut instead, we have the black-
tailed deer [i'erriix ri>lir>/i/>ianus), which is a
little larger and has brighter colors, but does
not furnish as good venison, the meat lacking the
juiciness and savory taste of the venison in the
IVIississippi Valley. The average weight of the
buck is about one hundred and twenty pounds,
and of the doe one hundred pounds, but bucks
have been found to weigh two hundred and
seventy-five pounds. The summer coat of the
black-tailed deer is composed of rather long and
coarse hair, of a tawny brown, approaching
chestnut on the back, in September this hair
becrins to come otf, exposing what the hunters
call the '•blue coat," which is at tirst fine and
silkv, and of a bluish-gray color, afterward be-
coming chestnut brown, inclining to gray on the
' sides, and to l)lack along the back. Occasion-
ally deer purely white are found. The horn,
when long, is about two feet long, and forks
near mid- length, and each prong forks again,
making four points, to wdiicli a little spur, issu-
ino- from near the base of tiie horn, may be
added, making five in all. This is the general
form of tlie burn; sometimes. howe\er. old
bucks are fouml with but two points.
The prong-horned antelope (^ji7itilocajria
americana) used to range the valleys of Sono-
ma (bounty like bands of sheep. They are new
extinct. In size the antelope was not quite so
large as the California deer, which it resembled
closely ill form and general appearance. They
were distinguished at a distance by their mcition;
the antelope canters, wliile the deer runs; the
antelope went in herds, and moved in a line
following the lead of an old buck, like sheep,
to which they are related, while deer more fre-
quently are alone, and if in a herd they are
more independent, and move each in the way
that suits him best. In color, the back, upper
part of the sides and outside of the thighs and
forelegs were yellowish-brown; the under parts,
lower part of the sides, and the buttckos as
seen from behiiul, were white. The hair was
very coarse, thick, spongy, tubular, slightly
crimped or waved, and like short lengths of
coarse threads cut otf bluntly. The horns were
very irregular in size and form, but usually they
were about eight inches long, rose almost per-
pendicularly, had a short, blunt prong in front,
several inches from the base, and made a slioi-t
backward crook at the top. The female had
horns as well as the male. The hoof was heai-t-
sliaped, and its jnint upon the ground could be
readily distinguished from the long, narrow
track of the deer. The antelope was about two
feet and a half high, and four feet long from the
nose to the end of the tail.
' Audubon's hare (Zejcw-v auduhonii) is the
most common species in Sonoma County. Its
tail is about three inches long, and its color is
mixed with yellowish-brown and black above,
white beneath, thigiis and rump grayish.
The sage rabbit [LepuK arfe>nlsi</) is also
found here.
Of the birds and fish of Sonoma County we
will not undertake to speak. Of the former
there is almost an infinite variety, and to at-
tempt to classify and describe each would re(|uire
a vast amount of labor and research. Of fresh
water, salt water and shell tish, the varieties
nearly equal that of the birds and fowls.
BISTORT Of SONOMA COUNTt.
205
, -i' ^ -til
-^Msjl OUR FLORA AND CONIFERA.
5i-^»>ri " ' '^' ^^-''-^- — ,. 7,~
m
CHAPTER XXIY.
fori the flora and conifera of Sonoma County
we are indebted to W. A. T. Stratton, the
Of Fetahuiia florist, who has given the sub-
ject years of patient research and study:
"The emerald sheen of hill and dale, the
gorgeous kaleidoscopic picture whifli no pen or
brush could ever portray, in justice to nature's
bounteous gifts, should engage a far more facile
])en than mine. Indeed, so inexpressibly beau-
tiful are all our primitive flora, the multiplicity
of forms and colors, my effort, no matter how
exhaustive it might be to even faintly mention
the more jjrominent, would be wholly inade-
(piate to do justice to so glorious a sulyect.
" In early spring, our golden A'sehsc/iolfzias
dancingly nod and kiss the morning breeze in
wavy masses, the first to tell us of nat\ire's
awakening, while in sheltered vales delicate
ferns come forth anew clotiied as it were in na-
ture's wedding garb of faultless, yet exquisite
loveliness. Then successively come our Bi'o-
diaeafi, our Tritdeiai^, our C'atiKtsaias and Stni-
hiciimx, intersj)ersed and commingled with
Lupins in charming shades and forms, while
Fr'ilUltii'hifi and the butterfly tuli[)S [Cdlvo-
limidn) in countless myriads bleml their beati-
ful colors so bright, so lovely, that 'language is
useless, its expression dumb.'
" Nothing was known, comparatively, of our
tbira, till D(jugl:iss made his first exj)lririiti(jn in
tlie year 179(). Menzies, Lindley, Lowson and
Michaux had traversed Puget yonnd. and fol-
lowing down the coast to the Columbia, and
some of them penetrated the northern portion
of our State; but Douglass, the energetic En-
glish botanist, followed down the coast range to
San Francisco Bay, and has said in his report
no section of the world ever presented so ricii
and varied a flora as that section of country
lying adjacent to and' north of the bay; and
more especially, its coast i-ange and valleys;
and in honor to his eminent services our peer-
less conifera Ahies DoiitjUisxil was named, one
of our most beautiful native evergreen trees.
" IVEany enthusiastic explorers then visited
our region, and Alta California soon gave the
world many floral treasures, for which our cool,
moist climate was so favorable for the devel-
opment of. And yet what a sad remnant of the
past; vandalism, the greed for gain, so rapidly
obliterated our forests of those noble structures
that nature's effort took centuries to build;
our hills and vales swej)t as it were by flames,
are nearly obliterated of all those gems of crim-
son and gold, and the cottage and trellis deck
the once primitive scene. Our choicest flora is
cast aside for the less l)eautiful forms of other
climes.
"Of the evergreen trees indigenous to our
section may be prominently mentiuncd our red-
306
IIISTORT OF SONOMA OOVNTY.
wood Seijno'ui tSenipervi'rens,o{ whose mam moth
proportions all are well a&niainted, forming
as it were so extensive and valuable forests all
over our county; but it is not generally known
that its relative S. Gigantea, also grows here,
but in ver^' limited quantities. Some years ago,
a gentleman hunting along on our northern
boundary found a small grove on a tributary of
the Russian Kiver, and very thoughtfully
brought me a small liml) and some cones, to be
certain of their identity. The trees were very
small comparatively, growing less than 100 feet
high and very stunted in habit. Abies Douglassii
is very plentiful, growing to regal proportions
near the coast in sheltered places, and we can
justly feel proud of this beautiful conifera as
the most beautiful of all trees i.ative of Cali-
fornia. I have seen natural specimens of this
noble tree nearly 150 feet high, clothed from
near the ground in natural graceful outlines, as
perfect in form as the hand of man could make,
and vet how few are ever to be found in culti-
vation. It is I if \ery rapid growth and worthy
of attention. In the vicinity of Sebastopol it was
very plentiful, the ynung trees being largely used
for Christmas trees. A. Pattonlana (Patton's
giant spruce), is also foimd sparingly. It is of
a bright glaucous green, growing 150 feet high,
existing only near the coast. I'hiun Murt<ata
(Bishop's jiine), a s])aringly clothed tree of
medium size, may be found only in the more
southern [Kirtion. It is of no use in the arts or
for ornament. /'. i//t>i)/ti/x (Oregon pitch pine),
is a very beautiful species plentiful all over our
county especially in the middle and northern
part, but a few comiiaratively are found in cul-
tivation, though for some years quantities were
grown for forest culture; but its value for tim-
ber is worthless. /'. tuherculata in stunted
form may be found along the Mark West Creek,
growing 70 to 100 feet high; it is of very slow
growth, though lieautiful in lorm, color and
outline. /'. Sah'uina, Sabine's pine, is one of
the most l)eautinil of all our native ])ines. It is
only found in the nortjiwestern portion, growing
in natural tapering outline 100 to 150 feet. It
is more commonly known as bull piue, tiie seed
or nuts being very large and are gathered by
Indians as a staple article of food. P. radiatn,
grows only over in canons near the coast; it is
a small tree, but the timber is said to be val-
uable, being exceedingly tough and strong. J'.
nuicrocarj>a,is vevy near\y related to J', insignis
and is the variety so largely found in our yards
and gardens. There may be other species of
the pine family to l)e found in scattered local-
ities, but I have luentioned all of those I have
personally found growing here. I had forgot-
ten a beautiful species of the pine sub-family,
ahies nohilis, noble silver lir; and, as its name
implies, is one of our most magnificent pro-
dtictions. It is a singular, majestic tree grow-
ing along our most northern border, producing
timber of fine quality, in some localities grows
200 feet high; but further northward to Oregon
thence to the Columbia, its size increases, be-
comes nmre plentiful, occupying almost ex-
clusive entire tracts of countrj'. It is a fitting
companion to ^1. Poiiglassii, two of the most
magnificent evergreens of the Pacific coast. We
can boast of one jnnipev ./an Ijieni.i <iri<h'iit((li.-<,
a small tree of about filfy feet high, growing
sparsely along Jhe San Antonio Creek. It is a
handsome tree and well suited for dry, rocky
locations.
" Some few specimens, I am told, may be found
of Thttja Gigantea, giant arbor vitiK, over near
the mouth of Russian River. In more favored
locations it grows 200 feet high and -10 feet in
diameter. In cultivation it is of majestic ap-
pearance, of most pleasing contour and color,
and well worthy of attention.
'• Of the cypress family we have cuj)resfiti>i
Laiusoniana, a very beauitful ornamental tree
so well known in our gardens. It is found sc>
far as I know only in tiie most northeastern
portion of our county. C. fragrdns is a small
tree of about forty feet high, of a bright glaucous
green, and exceedingly beautiful; its slender
branches droop gracefully down, and form a
charming tree. I have found it over near
Sonoma, in the upper end of the valley. It is
HISTOBT OF SONOMA COUNTY.
!i<)t generally known that our California nut-
meg-tree is a conifer. It belongs to the yew
sub-family, botauically known as To/rei/ t'al-
ifoiiini'ii. There is imtiiing very beautiful
about it, but it is a plant to be seen but to be
let alone, as it possesses in a large degree the
unpleasant odor of the family; and hence is
called the stinking yew.
"Of other prominent trees of our county men-
tion must be made of the noble family of oaks.
Ot the genus Queix-nx, we have (J.falcata, the
tanbark oak; (J. ii'kji'u, the black oak; Q. alba,
the white oak; C/ aijtiafica, the water oak; Q.
liiurifolio, the laurel-leaf oak; and Q. ile.i\ the
holly-leaf oak. There several sub-species of
these interesting trees, all well-known to 'the
native born.'
"We now mention a more interesting group,
our flowering plants, of which we have countless
numbers; and as the lily deservedly is the
(pieen of our native tiora, it sliall have the
jirecetience in these brietly written notes.
'■'■ L'dhuii Washingtoiilaniiiii. This beauti-
ful species is found only on the highest hill-
tops. It is an Alpine plant, and when grown
in low localities slowly pines away. It is of a
p"nre white color, becoming of a purj)lish cast
with age; often delicately dotted. To tiiosewho
attempt its cultivation, let me waiii them it is
sensitive to all stimulants, and must be gi-own
in a cool, shady place. It is our most lovely na-
tive species, and worthy of generous care, in the
hopes of ultimately succeeding in its more suc-
cessful culture. L. ruheKceiis is in reality a sub-
species of the foregoing. It has been found on
the moutitains near Sonoma and in iJedwoods
near Guernevilie, often seven fert high, flowers
nearly white, ciianging to purple or rose lilac
in coloi'. /,. parrHin, is another pretty variety
of an orange-yellow color. It is of easy cul
ture and grows well in any cool, di-y soil. /,.
Pardalinuia is of a bright orange color, and
enjoys a very moist, deep soil. I have seen
large quantities of these i)eautil'iil lilies on the
banks of the San Antonio that at times of the
year must be subirjerged by overHowing wa-
ters. It has succeeded well with me, and well
repays any generous attention. L. IlximhohUii
may be found only, as far as I can learn, on the
coast near Foi't Iloss. It grows three to four
feet high, much resembling our-tiger lily in col-
or. A sub variety of this lily, L. Colauibiamnn,
was sent nie from Ilealdsburg some years ago,
having broad, flats terns and massive large, creep-
ing root-like bulbs. In fact, all our California
lilies possess this characteristic form more or less,
that so plainly distinguishes them from the
more common forms of lilies. Of the lily sub-
family the Vaiochortus ranks ne.xt in beauty of
our native flora. They are more commonly
known as Mariposa, or Butterfly Tulips, so
named from their gaudy, showy colors; of these
we have C. jia/o/igllus, of a beautiful orange-
yellow color, with darkliloches on each petal. It
comes very late in flower, generally in July and
August, and is plentifully found in tiry pas-
tures and hill-sides.
" C jViuIus, a very beautiful dwarf species,
scarcely one foot in height, of a delicate lilac,
and white color, grows only in the shade of
trees. ('. yialii is of a deep yellow color,
blooming in June, often we have seen it spot-
ted a pure magenta, giving it a unique ap-
pearance. V. Lupins is of a deep yellow color,
spatted brown and purple, exceedingly showy.
'•f)f our Fi'itillarias, also a sub variety of our
lilies, and more popularly known as Cn.iwn Im-
perials, we have some most beautiful species,
and to those who know of them we heartily
commend them as well worthy of extended cul-
tivation. They all have most beautiful flow-
ers, and succeed well ill most any position: in
fact, are one of the lew that don't c.-ire what
treatment they recei\'e, only jilant them in th(>
ground. 7''. r<-fnri\i. is \ery lieautil'ul, beiuLCol'
a yelluw spotted brown color, generally found
in dry pastures in loose, sandy soil. Cultivation
largely improves the flowers, they being fully as
beautiful as anyof the foi-eign species. F. hlffora
has flowers of a darl<-l)rowii purple, I inted green,
and grows oidy over near the coast. W'e often
have seen it in the dry, sliilting sands on the sea
H/STOUr OF SONOMA COUNTY.
sliore, indifferent to exposure alike, be it spray
from the ocean ur the dry, parching winds and
sunsliine. F. L<inreolaf<t is of tlie most deli-
cate structure and habit. Its dark purple flow-
ers mottled with greenish yellow, so frail and
slender, seem incapable of withstanding the
rough frontier life, yet its delicate chalice,
drooping modestly, seems indifferent to the
praise of its admirers. F. plurlliora is of a
reddish purple color, and to us the more beauti-
ful of the species. It may be found only in
the shade of fences or trees or on tiie north
side of rocky hill-sides. Some lovely speci-
mens may be found in April or May on the
shady banks of dry creeks, and possil)]y many
other similar locations all over our county. Its
l>entlnlous, drooping flowers are of most ex-
ijuisite loveliness, and as it takes kindly to cul-
tivation, should be more extensively grown.
"The next most interesting genius of flower-
ing bulbous plants are the Brodiaeas. All the
species are of the easiest cultivation an<l will
repay the most simple attention. Many of them
grow with me in hard walks, dry corners, where
they get no care or attention; but when tlie
slightest interest is given tiiem, most amply re-
pay, with grateful appreciati<^n. /*. M idtiliour
is of a most lovely violet-purple color, growing
about one foot in height, and the earliest variety
to flower. B. CviHjeMn, is of a lovely purple
color, often flowering when two or three inches
high. It is the easiest grown of the species, and
in cultivation blooms almost continuously from
May to August. B. Capitata blooms the eai'-
liest of all, generally from January to May. Its
dark purple flowers are \ery attractive and
showy, usually growing one and a half feet
high. (Tather some bulbs of Itrodeas, friends,
no matter if in full flower, give them kiml at-
tention, and a rich reward awaits you.
" 1 now chauge to a highly interesting group
of plants, one admired by all — Ferns — which
our county possesses in matchless beauty. I
shall not attempt a botanical description. The
reader in the pursuit of knowledge must inter-
view a more competent teacher. Our California
Botany, edited by the gifted Prof. Asa Gray, and
the California Flora, are authorities of unques-
tionable character. The most noble and majes-
tic of all our species is Woodwordia radican.s.
I have gathered fronds of this beautiful variety
fully ten feet long. In dark, moist canons near
the coast, sheltered from winds and sunshine,
it may be found in its best estate. In cultiva-
tion it seems to pine out a miserable existence,
growing at best not more than four feet high.
Near the head of Bear Valley in Marin Coiiii-
ty some massive beauties were growing a few
years ago. Their graceful, arching fronds made a
leafy bower of fairy splendor. One specimen I
measured covered a space of twenty feet across.
Another beautiful fei-n, not by any means plen-
tiful, is Lomari'i Sj^irant. At the base of Spring
Hill, a few miles from our city, some most love-
ly specimens may be found, the fronds growing
six to seven feet high; the beauty of this fern is
the finely dissected leaves or fronds.
"There are but few ferns, however small in
structure, so delicately divided in formation, and
though large and massive ini'orm, is of most ex-
(juisite grace and loveliness. Of the Adiantuni,
or maiden-hair ferns, we have only two species.
A jhjdatuiii or bird-foot fern, or nnjre common-
ly known as five-ttnger fern, is a most graceful
and attractive plant. Under good culture its
delicate fronds gi'ow to regal beauty. A. Va^i-
illxs reui'-r/n, often known as ,1. Cliilensis, is
of low growth, yet most beautiful and attractive.
It does not take kindly to cultivation and much
prefers the wilds of its I'ocky hoioe. In
Eurojje, however, it is a variety of deep in-
terest, where it appears to stand on its good be-
havior. PeJlea denna is indeed a most ex-
quisite and lovely fern. Years ago I found this
variety near Ilealdsburg, almost completely
covering a huge rock. Interspersed in cracks
and Assures was one matchless CheUimtheH
Cidiforihica or lace fern, almost completely cov-
ering from sight the little mossy covering that
seemed to alone give life and nutrition, while at
its base were tine specimens of l'(dyj>odiiiiii
Vahjare, I*. T'a/ca^itm and 1'. Cal-iforicuvi,
HISTORY OP SONOMA COUNTY.
209
stately, grand sentinels of tlieir more delicate
relatives above tlieni. Of other species of ferns
found growing in our county, 1 mention Gi//n-
noijiHinvie t/'ian(/ul(trh<i, the gold-back fern,
Che'dnntheS(jraeUliinr(,J'i'Ue<iAndiriiae(hi'foUa,
and possibly some others. 1 have often sent
specimens for identification to different botan-
ists, and their classification often caused con-
fusion.
''As yet, much remains to be learned as to the
botany of our State. Changes are repeatedly l)e-
ing made by savants, showing conclusively of
tlieir indecision, and years must elapse, — years
of study, and a comjjarison of notes and speci-
mens, — before a final permanent basis is reached.
" I have very hastily and very briefly sketched
these rambling notes of history, and though
but a mere mention of our vast flora has been
noticed, it is to l>e hoped it may afford some lit-
tle pleasure to onr readers. It is to be hoped
that at no distant day an earnest effort may be
made to collect and classify the many different
genera of plants growing in our county.
" It would be of great interest to the student
of nature, and a valuable auxiliary for all fu-
ture generations in learning of uur primitive
flora. Such a monograph could be easily ac-
complished by the higher academic classes of
onr schools. In fact, when elementary botany
is taught, students should be instructed to bring
in specimens of all jilants they could And at all
times of the year. These should be mounted
and exchanged with different sections, thus se-
curing many different forms froni all locations.
Let me suggest a permanent herbarium for all
our schools, be they of a primary or more ad-
vanced graile, and if need be it should lie com-
pulsory.''
210
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNT F
"LO, THE POOR INDIANI
M'
Bi 11
VM?i>Miii''!ii1 1 ^ »» fe^ < ?jr i ii'(it ife '»g
4^t^^^ i^^'m < (Mi> i 'fs> i'Vitii' ^l^)
CHAPTER XXV
Tin; Indians — mis-kin kki oki> mi- ri;ii!Ai, xamks — Yai-le-ih's estimaii: oi-- tiikik ximrkr — thkik
Ni mi;i;k at timk oi- Amkrhan sKiri.KMKNr — iiikiu c imitjixiox and stati kk — iiuw tiiev j.i\ ed
TIIEIK IM1'LEMI;MS — INTKin lEW WITH CasKIUEL AND Jo-E VivlAK) — JolIN Wai.KEk's
statement.
N those chapters historic of Padre ^Vltiiiiira's
tbiiiiding tlie mission San Francisco Sohiiio
^ at Sonoma, and the iirst colonization of tliis
county by tlie Spaniards, necessarily appeared
most of what is authentic history in connection
with the Indian tribes occupyino; tlie territory
embraced in the subject of this history. It is
to be regretted that much of this is su indefi-
nite as to preclude a possibility of writing with
specific e.xactness in reference to the names of
tribes; their numerical strength, or the bounda-
ries of the territory over which each triljc
claimed jurisdiction.
According to the mission books of Sonoma
the following named Indian tribes furnished
neophytes to that institution: Alocjuiomi, Aten-
oniac, C'anoma, ("arcpiin, C^anijolmano, Caymus,
Chemoco, Chichoyoini, CliinMivi'iii, Coyayomi,
Iluiluc, Ilnymen, Lacatiut, Loiujuionii Libayto,
Locnoma, Afayacma, Mnticoimo, Malacu, Na-
pato, Oleomi, Putto, Polnomanoc, Pacjue, Peta-
luina, Suisun, Satayonii, Soneto, Tolen,
Tlayacma, Tamal, Tojiayto, L'lulato, Zadow and
Utinonianoe.
But tlie heathen thus gathered in evidentlv
took the wide range between Toniales, Afarin
County, and Canjiiiiicz Straits. There were
uniniBtakably tribes bearing the; following
names: The Petalmnas, occupying the country
north of San Pablo Pay and contiguous to
the Petaluma Creek. This is evidenced by the
record of the expedition of I'adre Altiniira. in
which mention is made that their first encamp-
ment in Petahinia Valley was with some Peta-
luma Indians who were hiding from their
enemies, the Cainemeros Indians of the now
Santa Rosa I'e^-ond the Cainemeros of Santa
Rosa were the Soteomelos, or Yapos (braves),
who occupied the Russian River country from
the neigliborliood of the present Healdsburg
northward to Cloverdale. That this was a pow-
erful and aggressive tribe is evidenced by tJie
fact that they overcame and slaughtered a large
number of the Cainemeros, whose wrongs were
avenged by the assistance of Salvador Vallejo
and his troops in battle np in the (Peyser
Mountains, as appears in another chapter. Thus
it would seem that the centi'al valleys of the
County from Petaluma northward was occupied
by three distinct tribes of Indians: the Peta-
lumas, the Cainemeros and the Soteomelos or
\ apos.
Wliile every lateral valley, subsidiary to these
main valleys, in the early days seem to have
been the center of an Indian rancharie, yet it
is doubtful if they had separate and distinct.
HIHTOUY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
i\'i' ti'ilial L'xititoiicu. (icDd'al Vallt'jcj lirst vis-
itod tliu territory now uuibraced in Sonuiiia
Coiiiity in 1828, and we liave it direct from his
li]is, that in every little valley was a rancharie
ot' Indian?. To use his exact lanonage: ''The
Indians were swarming every where.'" In refer-
ence to the possible nnniber of Indians here as
late as in 1835, the reader is referred to an ad-
dress of (General Vallejo delivered on the occa-
sion of the laying of the corner-stone of the
iK'W court-l'.ouse at Santa llosa in 1884.
Making due allnwance for exti'avaganee of
estimate of Indian population in what is now
embraced in Sonoma County, in 1835, there
must have been several tiionsand of these dusky
children of nature here. I>ut the small-pox
pestilence in 1838 must have made sad havoc
among them, for never since American occu-
]taney could they have mustered 1,000 all
told. In 185-4 the writer traveled afoot and
alone, with only a small pocket pistol as a
weapon of defense, from Petaluma to a point
twelve miles above Ilealdsburg, a total distance
(if over forty miles, and he did not see fifty
Indians in the whole distance. At that time
there was (jnite a rancharie at Cioverdale; one
near Ilealdsburg, another in the neighborhood
of the lagoonas about Sebastopol and a small
number of Indians who made a precarious living
by hunting around Smith's Ranch and Hodega
r>ay. As hiW. as 1854 "55 there was finite a
rancharie of Indians at Toinales !!ay. Marin
(Jounty; and a very small lancharie in the
edge of Marin Countv, about tive miles distant
from Petaluma. The last Indians we find any
trace of as living apart by themseKcs in a
rancharie, in the neiglibiji-lidod ot' Petaluma,
was on what is now known as tlie l'"i-('il Starkie
place, about two miles nm-tb nf that citv. At
the present wi'iting tbci-e is mil to exceed 100
Indians left in the county. Most of these are
hovering, like the last shadows of their race,
around Ilealdsburg and Cioverdale, eking out
a miserable existence as the servitors of the race
that has supplanted then).
Tlie Indians of this regic>n are very ^imilal• in
stature, complexion, and habits of life to those
of other portions of California. They arc very
thick in the che.st, and have voices of wonderful
strength. The children are clumsy, and heavy
set. The women are very wide in the shoulders
and hips, and strongly built. Men and women
are large in the body, and slim in the legs and
arms, as compared with Caucasians. They are
physically and intellectually inferior to their
relatives in Nevada Territory, and far inferior
to the Indians who dwelt during the last cen-
tury east of the Mississippi River. They are of
a very dark com])!exion, and their hair always
black, is coarse to the verge of that of a horse's
mane. The women (niohalas) cut their hair
straight across the forehead just above the eye-
brows, inueh as their Caucasian sisters do for
" bangs." In their native state the-se Indians
were far from models of neatness or cleanliness;
bTit now that most of them wear modern gar-
ments and often seek labor on ranches, they
have in a measure ahjured their former filthy
habits. Their rancharie habitations were of the
rudest and cheapest possible construction. The
indispensable sweat-house, however, was a sort
of joint-stock structure, and as it generally con-
sisted of an excavation in the ground, with a
surface structure made tight by baid<ing up the
earth arouml it, its construction cost some
labor.
Their food was composed chiefly of acorns,
clover-grass, grass-seeds, grasshoppers, hr)rse-
chestnuts. fish, game, ])ine-nuts, edible roots,
and berries. The acorns are large, abundant,
and some (jf them not unpleasant to the taste,
but they do not cimtain mncb nutriment as
compared with an ei|ual imlk of those articles
conininnly used bir loixl by the Caucasian race.
The aci.i-iis were gathered by tli(' scjuaws, and
preserved in various methods. The m(;st coiri-
mon plan was to build a basket with twigs and
rushes in an oak-tree, and keep the acorns there.
The ac(jrns were ])repared for eating by grind-
ing them and hoiling them ^ith watci- into a
thick paste, or by baking them in bread, 'i'lin
oven was a hojc in the ground about eighteen
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
inches cubic. Ked liot stones were ])laci'd at the
liottdui of the liole, a little dry sand ur loam
llitdwii over them, and next came a layer of dry
leaves. The dough or jwste was poured into
the hole until it was two inches or three inches
d<'e[). Then came anotiier layer of leaves, more
sand, red-hot stones, and finally dirt. At the
end of five or six hours the oven had cooled
down, and the bread was taken out, an irregular
mass nearly black in color, not at all handsome
to the eye or agreeable to the jialate, and mixed
through with leaves and dirt. l''or grinding
the acoi'us a stone mortar was used. This mor-
tar was sometimes nearly Hat, with a iiollow not
more than two inches deep; and occasionally
one will be seen fifteen inches deep, anil not
more than three inches thick in any part of it.
The pestle was of stone, round, ten inches long
and three thick.
llorsechestnuts were usually made into a gruel
or soup. After being ground in the mortar,
they were mi.xed with water in a waterproof
basket, into which redhot stones were thrown,
and thus the soup was cooked. As the stones
when taken from the fire had dirt and ashes ad-
liering to them, the soup was not clean, and it
often set the teeth on edge.
(-irass-seeds were ground in the moi'tar and
I'oasted or made into soup.
Grasshoppers were roasted, and eaten without
further preparation, or mashed U]) with berries.
Fish and meat were broiled on the coals.
The intestines and l)lood wei-c eaten as well as
the muscle.
Clover and grass were eaten i-aw. The In-
dians would go out into the clover patches, pull
up the clover with their hands, and eat stalks,
leaves, and flowers. They considered clover a
great blessing, and got fat on it. The [)ine-
nnts, edible roots, and ben-ies were eaten raw.
Bugs, lizards, and snakes were all considered
good for food. In those places where the tnles
grow, the roots of those rashes were eaten.
They used very few tools. The bow was the
only weapon for killing quadrupeds. It was
tixidn of a v«ddish wood, and on th« Itack the
bow was strengthened by a covering of deer's
sinews, which gave to it greater strength and
elasticity. Salmon were killed with stones and
clubs in shallow water, and were caught with
spears. Their most ingenious spear had a head
of bone about one inch and a half long anil
sharp at both ends. To the middle was fastened
a string, which was attached to the spear-sliaft.
One end of the head tit into a socket at the end
of the spear-shaft. When the spear was thrown
the head came out of the socket and turned
cross-ways in the fish, and then there was no
danger that it would tear out. The Indians
rarely hunted the grizzly bear." .VIong the
ocean Ijeach they got barnacles. Their method
of catching grasshoppers was to dig a hole sev-
eral feet deep, in a valley where this species of
game abounded. A large number of the In-
dians then armed themselves with bushes, and
commenced at a distance to drive the grasshop-
pers from all sides toward the hole, into which
the insects finally fell, and from which they
could not escape. The pine-nuts were sought
at the tops of the pine-trees, whicli the "bucks''
ascend by holding to the rough bark with their
hands, and pressing out with their legs, so that
they do not touch the body to the trunk of the
tree in going u[). Is is more like walking then
climbing.
The bow and arrow, the spear, the net, the
obsidian knife, the mortar, and the basket were
the only tools made by the Indians. The obsi-
dian knife was merely a piece of obsidian as
large as a hand and sharp on one side. The
baskets wei-e all made of wire-grass, a grass
with a round jointless stem, about a sixteenth
of an inch thick and a foot long. The basket-
work made with this wire-grass resembled the
te.xture of a coarse Panama hat, and was water-
proof. All the basket-work of the Californian
Indians was made of this material. Tlie most
common shape for the basket was a perpendicu-
lar half of a cone, three feet long and eighteen
inches wide, open at the top. The basket, car-
ried on the back of the squaws, was used for
carrying food, miscellaneous articleg, and chil-
HISTORY OP SONOMA COUNTY.
dren. This outline of tlie lives and habits of
the aborigine nice that once held undisputed
sway in Sonoma County will be of interest to
future generations.
Only a few months ago the writer visited the
ranch of Mr. John Walker, near Sebastopol,
where is now the last rancheria of Indians south
yf Healdsburg. Fifteen Indians, all told, now
constitute the tribe. Mr. Walker, who speaks
Spanish, and Jose Viquero, the head Indian, a
chief who speaks very good English, accom-
panied us and did the interpreting. Our mis-
sion was to interview an Indian named Caski-
bel, wlio is now supposed to be 100 years old.
Mr. Walker has known him forty years, and has
no doul)t al)ont his being- a centenarian. Cas-
kibel has been stone blind for twenty years.
He was sitting tlat on the ground busily remov-
ing the hulls from acorns, his native and favor-
ite food. It was Sunday morning, and as we
took a seat with note-book in hand to jot down
such information as might be elicited from Cas-
kibel, every nieml)er of the tribe stood by, ap-
parently interested spectators. From him we
gathered the following information about the
long past: When the Americans catne to Cali-
fornia, the chief of his tribe was named Francis-
co, and the Chief of the Russian River Indians
was named Ocata. In those days creeks, rivers
and mountain ranges marked the boundaries be-
tween Indian tribes. It was nut permissible
for the Indians of one tribe to enter upon the
territory of another tribe to hunt or lish, with-
out permission. The tribes, so far as Caskibel
knew, spoke the same language — that is, they
could make eacli other readily understood. Tlie
different tribes had (jccasional wars. It was a
common thing for Indians of different tribes to
inter-marry. Tattooing was practiced. This
was tlonc witli jnilverized charcoal made trom
willow wood. They only had knives made ot
obsidian, and for killing small game they used
bows and arrows. The most common way of
capturing elk, deer and antelope was by means
of snares. We questioned Caskibel particular-
ly in reference to the pestilence that swept away
the Indians. He could not give the year, but
said that it was long ago, and the Indians of his
tribe for a long time died to the number of from
ten to twenty a day. In some tribes nearly all
died. He describes the Indians as having been
very numerous previous to that pestilence,
which he said was small-pox.
Jose Viquero, through whom we elicited this
information from the aged Caskibel, must
be sixty years Old himself, but he seems to be
in full vigor of middle age. He informed us
that he was at Sonoma when it was captured by
the Americans, and that he received from Fre-
mont a pass which allowed him to go and come
as lie chose. Mr. Walker stated that Viquero
was virtually the chief of all the Indians now-
left in Sonoma County. He also gave informa-
tion as to a custom prevalent among the Indians
when he came to the county over forty years
ago. In the fall, after having gathered in store
their winter's supply of acorns and other food,
each rancheria gave what might be termed a
harvest feast, inviting to it the Indians of neigh-
boring rancharies. On such occasions a large
fire was built, and when everything was ready
for the feast, but befoi-e anyone partook of food,
the eliief, together with the aged men and
squaws, marched in procession around this fire,
each casting into it handfuls of acorns, grass seed,
and in fact, some of each and all kinds of the
provisions that had been laid in store. From
whence came this custom of a burnt-offering
among these untutored children of nature?
It was not without a feeling of sadness that
we turned away from that little group — the last
remnant of a race soon to become extinct.
They arc rapidly melting away, and their rude-
ly fashioned stone mortars and pestels will be
the only material evidence that generations ot
the future will have that they ever existed at all.
214
UlUTOliY OF aoNOMA COUNT i'.
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GENERAL HISTORY TO A CONCLUSION. -^
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CHAl'TER XXVI.
FkoM 1870 o.NWAKI) Tilt; SUITIIIJUN- ( I untied Ol'EXEI) TO S^ETTLKMKNT ITS EFFECT — SoNOMA TRUS-
I'KKS WlTllnlT A CUAN'tUi I.N HER INDLSTUIES — UKAIN AM) l>i>TATOES XUT (iKOW.N S^i i EAK(.Er.Y
Si'Ol K, IIAV AND FKUIT GROWING -RAILROADS SIIMl LATE THE I.lMIiER BUSINESS STATISTICAL ANU
OTHERWISE Sonoma CoLNTv's FITUKE, FTI'.
fN a previous chapter we brought the general
developments of Sonoma County forward to
^ 1870. AVe now continue it to the end.
Elsewhere it has been shown that at that period
Sonoma County ranked next to the County of
■San Francisco in number of school children.
As one among the youngest counties of the
State she had thus suddenly- come to the very
front in population and productiveness. We
hazzard nothing in saying that up to 1870
Sonoma County liad been productive of more
wealth to the State in the shape of cereals, pota-
toes, butter and cheese tiian the three counties
of Los Angeles, San I'ernardino and San Diego
combined. This wealth of products gave to her
land a li.xed value, and hence it was that lands
came to be valued, even at tliat early day, at
from $50 to .*!75 an acre, according to its near-
ness to or remoteness from market.
.\t tiiat time ]irincipal]y. the whole State
south of Santa (Jiara County was yet in a com-
parative state of nature. .Vround town.s an<l
old missions were orchards and vineyards, but
the most of the country was yet an open range
for bands and herds of Spanish horses and cattle.
Tlie lands were yet lield in large grants and the
holders thereof liad little seeming concejition of
the real value of tlieir broad acres. In the
years leading up to 1S70, men who had learned
the real value of laud in Sonoma ami adjacent
counties began to spy out the laiuls of the
southern portion of the State, and many of
them secured large tracts at prices varying from
%1 to %'b per acre. In the space of a very few-
years the wlude southern country from IMonterey
to San Diego County was an inviting field for
immigration. The sudden opening up of so
wide a Held lor occujiancy was most certainly
not conducive to the material prosperity of
Sonoma County. The number of former resi-
dents here who now rank among the wealthy
and intliieiitia] nion of those southern counties
attest how imich Sonoma County contributed
toward building up that jjortion of the State,
now famous for oranges and "booms."
But even with all this drain upon her vitality
and resources '-Old Sonoma" ))ursned the even
tenor of iier way, making stea<]y and permanent
progress. Tlie developments in other portions
of the State ileprived her (jf a monopoly of the
grain and potato growing industry, lint with
a facility of expedients rendered easy by her
wmiderful diversity of soil and climate her peo-
ple readily adapted themselves to new conditions
and have largely taken to the channels of new
indu.stries.
HISTORY OF SOlflOMA COUNT y.
I'ruiii Two lluck \ iillty to IJodujfu, once
almost a continuous i^rain aiul potato field, the
c'onnttT, almost entire, is now devoted to dairy-
ing and stock-raising. Tiiis is now a good pay-
ing industry, and will so continue, as the rapid
settling of the southern portion of the State
insures a never failing market. In the southern
end of the county grain has largely given place
to the growing of hay, that is a ci'op easily
handled, and that finds a never failing market
in San Franci.sco and at remunerative prices.
The upper valleys of the central portion of
the county are being largely devoted to grape
and fruit growing. The most marked develop-
ments in this direction is noticeable from Santa
Jiosa northward to Cloverdale. That region be-
gins to assume the appearance of what the
whole county ought to present — that is, small
holdings with cheerful home surroundings.
The completion of the Northern Pacific liail-
road in 1872 to Cloverdale, had much to do
with changing the currents of old-time habits
and customs of the people, and the hinging of
life-conditions into nearer harmony with the
great metropolitan center to which they were
brought so near by rapid communication. And
this was soon supplemented by the building of
the Coast Narrow (Tauge Railroad, that entered
Sonoma County at ^'alley Ford, and after rest-
ing for a time at Duncan's Mills, again pushed
forward to Cazadero, in the very heart of forest
wilds. The building of these roads for a time
may have proved damaging to the few, but to
the great mass of Sonoma County's citizens they
but heralded the dawn of a yet more prosperous
future. The e.xtensions of the Donahue line to
Sonoma, and thence to Glen Ellen, as also the
building of the recently constructed road be-
tween Santa Rosa and Napa Junction, are addi-
tional avenues of commerce and travel of incal-
culable value to the county. With one or two
branch roads to meet the requirements of that
fertile belt of country interme<liate between the
San Francisco and North Pacific and the Coast
Line Narrow Cauge railroads, the whole of
Sonoma County will be brought into close rela-
tionship Willi the very center of wealth and
commerce on the Pacific coast.
We cannot better emphasize the progress
made in the development of Sonoma County
than by giving the following extract from an
opening address delivered before the agricultural
society at retaluma in 186U by Hon. George
Pearce, who came to California with General
Phil. Kearney in 1847. Mr. Pearce, taking a
then retrospective view, says:
" We meet here to exhibit and compare the
products of our labor and the soil, and to
challenge competition with each other and the
world in both. Some bring for exhibition pro-
ductions of the vegetable kingdom, others of
the animal; while others bring productions of
and improvements in the mechanic arts, the
handi-work of man, but all come for the same
purpose, viz.: mutual improvement of each in
his particular vocation — one in the manufacture
and improvement of machinery, another in the
more perfect specimens of the animal king-
dom, and others still greater varieties and more
perfe.ct productions of the varied climates and
soils with which the peojile of this region are
blessed.
" Hut a few short years ago little else than
the antelojie, the elk, the deer, the droves of
mustangs, the herds of wild, inferior cattle, and
an occasional adol)e habitation, would have at-
tracted the attention of the stranger travelino'
through Sonoma at this season of the year. He
would naturally have inquired how these ani-
mals subsisted in a region apparently so sterile,
barren and dry, and liave shaken the dust from
his feet, and left this region, impressed with
the belief that it was unfit for the habitation
of an energetic and enterprising stock-grower,
much less mechanics or agriculturists.
" The speaker visited this region very little
in advance of the periotl indicated by the fore-
going remarks, and well remembers the first
impressions made on his mind by the then gen-
eral appearance of the country, and although he
here pitched his tent and has remained ever
since, no small fortune would then have induced
216
liisronr of sonoma couNty.
his cunsent to do so. 13iit as time passed aloug
lie witnessed first the experiments, tlien the
successes, and afterward the almost miraculous
improvement in the animal and vegetable king-
doms, and still later, the wonderful progress
and development in agricultural and the me-
chanic arts. He could, therefore, speak of them
both from observation and some slight practical
experience. But it would consume too much
time and weary your patience to give a detailed
history of tliese things; let it snfKce to note
some of the singular changes wrought by the
progress and development referred to. Then
we usually went to tlie valleys of the Sacra-
mento and its tributaries on the mustang: to
San Francisco on what was commonly called a
launch, taking generally from two to four days
in crossing the bay; and as long as we pleased
in going to Sacramento, but nearly always
giving the mustang his natural gait — a lope or
a gallop. AVe generally carried our bed with us,
and slept wherever dai'kness overtook us. Every
one carried a jiistol and knife — indeed it was
considered a crime to go without them. Now
we go to San Francisco in four hours, on steam-
boats; to Sacramento in ten hours, on steam-
boats and railroads; we iind no necessity for
taking a bed, or even sleeping on the journey,
and we punish men for carrying knives and
pistols. Then it was considered impossible to
cultivate the soil without irrigation; now it is
well known to be quite injurious to irrigate.
"The great valleys of this region were then
thought to be adapted to and lit for grazing
purposes only, except as they could be irrigated;
and now they are devoted almost exclusively to
agriculture, and without a thought of irrigation.
The mountains and hills then believed to be
barren waste are now known to be the best
grazing lands, and in some instances even for
agricultural purposes. Then iifty, or at most,
$100,000, would have purchased all the landed
estates of piivate individuals within what is now
known as the County of Sonoma. Now a single
vineyard on the mountain side will almost, if
nut i|uite, command iIkiI sum. Tlicii the entire
taxable property in her liorders wotiid, perhaps,
have reached !f<200,000; now it reaches about
18,000,000.
" Wild grasses covered her plains and valleys
then, now corn, wheat, oats, barley and rye.
Extensive orchards abound in almost every sec-
tion, and vineyards have taken the place of the
barren patch; the corral has been supplanted
by the commodious stable and barn; the rude
adobe habitations by handsome, comfortable,
and, in many instances, almost palatial brick,
wooden and stone edilices, beautilied and
adorned with all the improvements in modern
architecture and mechanic arts.
" Sonoma Valley, ' the valley of the moon,'
from which this county takes its name, forms
but a small though important portion of the
region now called Sonoma County. Sonoma
proper is where ' Old Pap Merritt,' as he was
familiarly called, Mcintosh, Cooper, Nicholas
Carriger, Brockman, Griffith, and others, first
picked their flints for the contest which ended
in the acquisition of this State, and gave birth
and rise in a very great degree to the progress,
improvement and development which ensued.
"Old Sonoma! her memory is dear to me I
May she and heir many noble citizens be long
and abundantly blessed."
Such was the languageof lion. George Pcarce
in 1869, reminiscent of the then psist, and yet
he has lived to see the day when he can step
aboard of cushioned cars and reach San Francisco
in two hours from Petaluma, or in less than
two hours and-a-half from Santa Rosa, and
when the assessed value of the property of
Sonoma County, instead of being !?8,000,000.
has reached the sum of $80,121,898.
With the exception of the phihixera that
proved destructive to the old vineyards of Sonoma
Valley, frcan the year 1870 down, the entire
County of Sonoma has made slow but sure pro-
gress in material prosperity. For a long series
of years she had but little market for her.sujier-
abundance of fruit. As h consequence much
fruit went to waste, and orchards were uiioared
foi' and neglected. Tiie discovery I'f the process
H/.STOnr OF SONOMA VOUNTY.
of fruit cauuiug, howe\er, lias worked a eoiii-
plete revolution in the matter of fruit-growing.
Old oi'chards have been pruned and cultivated,
and new orchards are being planted on every
hand. This is now coining to the front as one
of Sonoma County's most enduring industries.
Here, without any irrigation whatever, all kinds
of deciduous trees grow luxiiriaiitij. So, too,
with grape-vines. And in many portions of
the county even semi-tropical fruits grow in a
high state of perfection.
The following, compiled from the assessor's
reports for 1887-88, will give the reader an
accurate estimate of the present and future of
Sonoma Count}':
The cultivation of wheat has decreased con-
siderably, having fallen in the interval between
1870 and 1887 from 45,000 acres to 21,785
acres according to the assessor's report, or a de-
crease of over 50 [)er cent. The yield, however,
in 1888, an admittedly dry season, is estimated
at about 550,000 to 600,000 bushels or only a
reduction of about 30 per cent. This is prob-
ably due to the better system of cultivation and
more general practice of summer fallowing.
The breadth of land sown to barley in 1887 ac-
cording to the same official was 22,8fi'J acres
against 21,213 in 1870; a trifling increase of
7| per cent, in area, but a iiiiich larger one in
yield, the crop being estimated at 762,450
l)usliels against 424,200 eleven years before.
Oats are not much grown in Sonoma, e.xcept on
the coast and the acreage accordinjc to the asses-
sor in 1887 was only 4,6U5 acres. Hay had
increased from 47,744 acres to 80,561. In
1887 the assessor reported seventy-two thorough-
bred horses and 364 graded horses and all other
kinds 7,624. To any one who has seen the ex-
hibits of stock at the Sonoma and Marin Agri-
cultural Fairs and been much in the streets of
the towns and visited farms where breeding is
not made a specialty, it seems absurd to put
down the number of graded horses at 364, but
if farmers have a grailed horse or two they are
not likely to boast of it to the assessor. Mules
were set down at 386.
Thoroughbred cows were repoited at eighty,
a ridiculously small number considering the
many herds of Jersey, Holstein and short-horns
there are in Sonoma, but we suppose only those
whose owners had had them registered in the
herd-books were mentioneil as thoroughbreds.
American cows were reported 18,21!t; stock
cattle at 3,066; beef cattle at 430; calves at
1,730; hogs at 15,450; Cashmere and Angora
goats 250 ; slieeji, including 1,935 graded,
150,710 head, and lambs 12,460.
The assessor reports 656,657 fruit trees; this
at eighty trees to the acre would only give
about 8,208 acres which was probably much
below the facts at that time and hardly two-
thirds of what it now is, with the new trees
that have since been planted. Luther Eurbank.
a well versed and reliable nursery man of Santa
Rosa, after a careful estimate of the fruit and
n«t trees planted in 1887, says the following
statement is a fair and close approximate of the
number and ditierent varieties of trees planted
in Sonoma County: ( )lives, 20,000 trees; apples,
12,000; pe^trs, 30,000; plums, 6,000; prunes,
15,000; cherries, 6,000; apricots, 4,000; peaches,
25,000; nuts, mostly walnuts and chestnuts,
15.060.
These figures do not include old orchards,
most prominent among which is Warren But-
ton's prune orchard of 20,000 trees — the largest
in the world — situated near Santa Rosa.
The Italian-Swiss colony near Heaklsburg
has also a very extensive orchard. Prune trees
were in such demand last year that the supply
failed or the acreage would have been greatly
increased and the demand this spring has not
fallen off but rather enlarged.
The assessment roll showed in 1887 21,683
acres set out in vines. Viticulturists estimate
that the planting of vines last season exceeded
anything in the history of the county, being not
less than 8,000 acres. This would bring the
acreage in vines up to 29,683 acres. As asses-
sors' figures are generally below rather than
above the facts, it is not stretching figures to
estimate the total number of acres at 35,000,
218
HI STORY OP SONOMA COVNTV.
iiicludiiig table grapes and non-bearing first and
second year vines from cuttings or rooted plants.
The assessor's report shows the production of
wine in 1886 Ity districts, was as follows:
Cloverdale, 200,000 gallons; Geyserville, 150,-
000; Ilealdsburg, 200,000; Windsor, 150,000;
Fulton, 40,000; Santa Rosa, 500,000; Fountain
Grove, 80.000; Laguna and Korbell, 100,000;
Sebastopol, 80,000; Petaluma, 40,000; Glen
Ellen, 500,090; Los Guilicos, 200,000; Sonoma,
1.000,000; Bennett Valley, 200,000. Total,
3,500,000 gallons.
The State Board of Eijualization makes a
very moderate estimate in giving the following
report of the vines in Sonoma County: Table
and raisin — One year, fifty acres; two years,
400 acres ; five years, 1,450 ; total, 1,900.
Wine grapes — One year, 7,000 acres; two
years, 5,272 acres; three years, 3,640 acres;
four years, 1,225 acres; five years, 6,046; total,
23,183; grand total, 25,083. It is, however, as
the Board admits, the first in respect to the
area, under wine grapes of any county in the
State.
Sonoma County enjoys a perfect imnninity
from drouths, as the following iiietereological
report will show:
In the records of Sonoma County since rain
guages were established, we find that in 1853-
'54, 29 inches fell in Santa Rosa, which city
may be accepted as a central locality that gives
the mean precipitation, leaving the wooded
slopes facing the ocean out of consideration. In
1854-'55, 30 inches fell; in 1855-'56, 25 inches;
in 1856-'27, 25 inches; in 1857-'58, 23 inches;
in 1858-'59, 23 inches; in 1859-'G0, 21 inches;
in 1860-'61,17 inches; in 18Bl-'62, 46 inches;
in 18()2-'63, 17 inches; in 1863-'64, 12 inches;
in 1864-'65, '2() inches, and yet the two latter
seasons were the driest ever known in California,
and while the crops and grasses were an abso-
lute failure in the great valleys and in all South-
ern California, yet in Sonoma, especially in the
latter year, and as regards other parts of the
St>ate, driest season ever known, the yield was
enormous. In the seasons of lS()5-'66. the fall
was 30 inches ; in 1866-'67, 40 inciics ; in
1867-'68, 50 inches; in 1868-'69, 26 inches; in
1869-70, 25 inches; in 1S70-'71, 17 inches; in
1871-72, 40 inches; in lS72-'73, 21.58 inches;
in 1873-'74, 29.54 inches; in 1874-'75, 23.30
inches; in 1875-"7t'), over 32 inches, showing a
mean annual raintall in the twenty-three years
of which we give a record, of over twenty-seven
inches each season, with a maximum of fifty
inches from autumn to spring, and a minimum
of twelve inches. It has been truly said of
Sonoma, that no crop ever failed for want ot
moisture. Corn is planted on the rich bottom
lands in April, and though often it does not re-
ceive one drop of rain after it appears above the
ground, yields from eighty to 100 bushels to the
acre.
Ilavinw siven a record of the rainfall for the
twenty-three years beginning in the season ot
1853-'54, and ending with that of 1875-76,
according to observations made in Santa Rosa,
we will now give the record for the succeeding
period of ten years, from 1876-'77 to 1885-'86,
as observed at Petaluma, 'oy Major James Sing-
ley, at the office of the San Francisco & >sortb
Pacific Railroad Co. In the season of 1876-
'77, 13.15 inches fell; in the season of 1877-'78,
39.24 inches; in the season of 1878 -'79, 20.83
inches; in the season of 1879-'80, 26.83 inches,
in 1880-81, 24.55 inches; in 1881-82, 17.04
inches; in 1882-83, 19.15 inches; in 1883-'84,
24.55 inches; in 1884-'85, 14.96 inches, and in
1885-'86, 28.89 inches. In the ten rainy sea-
sons, ending June 30, 1886, the average rainfall
was 23.14 inches in the southern or Petulaina
end of the great valley.
While the above relates mainly to the annual
direct products of her soil, Sonoma County has
a wealth in her forests and mines, the accumu-
lation of the ages. Previous to 1870, her lum-
ber and timber industries were largely confined
to her belt of seaboard, where water transporta-
tion oflfered facilities for transportation of her
forest products to market. The building of the
Northern Pacific and the Coast Line Narrow
Gauire Railroads cbangeil all this, for they pen-
ItlsTORT OP SONOMA COUNT f.
otratcd tliebe fields of wcaltli, ami snoii tlie liiim
of Imndreds of saws was heard wiiere silence
had reigned supreme for untold ages. Else-
where extended mention has heen made of the
inagnitude of the forests of Sonoma County,
also the process of manufacturing these giants
of tlie forest into marketable lumber. Taking
the wealtli of these forests alone as represented
bv lumber, railroad ties, posts, pickets, cord-
woo<l and tanbark, and it is immense, to say
nothing about the untold wealth of minerals,
that in time will be exploited from mines of en-
during richness. The successful operations of
the Mt. Jackson (Quicksilver Mines in those
wilds is tangible evidence of the hidden wealth
locked up in those forest-clad mountains.
No section of California has acquired such
fame in producing fine stock as Sonoma County,
especially superior horses. Wherever you travel
in California, in fact anywhere on the Coast, if
you see a very fine animal, and inquire where it
came from, the answer most likely will lie Peta-
luma or Santa Rosa. Hordering upon the bay,
and with a large ocean frontage, with the ex-
tensive bottom land, and grassy mountain slopes
and hill sides, together with the regular period-
icity of rains, nearly all portions of this county
are celebrated for producing fine horses, cattle
and sheep. The hilly and lower mountain sec-
tions of the northern part of the county are the
wool growing districts. The section bordering
on the Pacific is noted for dairying, while the
southern l)ay section for producing fine horses.
Two hundred and fifty carloads of live stock are
shipped annually by railroad from this county.
Sonoma County has been noted from its earliest
settlement for the amount and superiority of its
dairy products, which have always brought the
highest prices in the San Francisco market.
The annual yield of butter is about 1,500 tons,
or 3,000,000 ])oun(ls, giving an income of over
s()00,000. J'etaluma is one of the largest ship-
ping points in the State, of dairy products.
In another place reference has been made to
the basalt rock (juarrics of Sonoma C!ounty. In
the past ten years the making of liasalt paving
blocks for the San I'rancisco market has grown
into a large and lucrative industry. These
quarries are found near Petaluma, Santa IJosa
and Sonoma, from Santa Ilosa they are
shipped by rail to Tiburon, and thence by water
to San Francisco. I'^rom Petaluma they are
shipped direct l)y water, several schooners
being re(juired to do the carrying. FroiTi Sono-
ma they are shipjied by rail to a point on Peta-
luma Creek, below Tikeville, and from thence
by water. From these three points the quanti-
ty (jf paving blocks shipped annually amounts
to many thousand carloads.
The present material wealth of Sonoma Coun-
ty is best told in the annual report of the State
Board of Equalization of California for the year
1888. As is well known, the assessed valuation
of property is usually gieatly under the real
value. Sonoma is not an exception to the rule.
The following figures are taken from the report:
Yalue of real estate, personal property, money,
solvents and assessments of railroads, !!;30,121,-
898, an increase of .«!3,000,000 over last year;
nnmber of acres sown to wheat, lit.S-iO; oats,
4,960; barley, 24,950; corn, 29,230; hay, 8(),-
370; number of growing frnit trees, 940,800;
number of acres of table grapes. 1,100; wine
grapes, 22,845 acres; raisin grapes. 350 acres.
Put while we are thus careful to note the
growth and material prosperity of Sonoma Coun-
ty, we are not unmindful of her educational and
moral advancement. This has kept pace with
her growth and development. The people with
no niggard hand have liberally contributed to-
ward the maintenance of all institutions that
mai'ch in the van of a higher civilization. On
every hand churches and scliool houses liave
multiplied, and now the county can boast of an
educational system and organizations promotive
of public morals, second to none in the State.
That this is true is evidenced by tlie follow-
ing:
We are indebted to Mrs. F. McG. ilai'tin,
County Superintendent of Public Scliools, for
the following information on matters in lier de-
partment. 'I'hcre are 128 school districts and
220
nifiroUT OF SONOMA COVNTY.
tlie last census sliowed 8,441 children between
five and seventeen years of ajre. The value of
the school huildings is !5;22S,121, exclusive of
the ^18,000 building going up in Petaluma.
The number of children enrolled in the public
schools is 6,'J41t and the average attendance 4,-
32t). Of high schools there are four, of gram-
mar schools there are fifty-six, of primary 120.
There are thirty-one male teachers and 149
ladies, making a total of 180. The average
monthly salary of the male teachers is $74.19
and of the lady teachers is $53.51; 119 districts
maintain schools eight months and over in the
year. The county school tax is fourteen cents
on the $100 assessed value, which yields $42,-
345.40. The State apportionment is $54,000,
which makes the total school income for county
purposes $96,345.40.
In Santa Ilosa Court House District, there
are 1,400 children between five and seventeen
and 4()9 under five years of age. The number
of enrolled pupils of the public schools is 1,014
and the average attendance 723. The number
of pupils attending private schools is 132 and
the number attending no school is 261.
In Petaluma there are l,04t) children between
five anil seventeen years and under five 284.
The number of scholars enrolled is 848, and the
average attendance is 621. The number of
scholars attending private schools is twenty-two.
The number who have attended no school dur-
ing the past year is 176.
In llealdsburg there are 485 children between
five and seventeen years and 189 under five.
The number between five and seventeen, who
have attended school within the year is 400, be-
sides fifty-two who have attended private
schools. The number now enrolled in the pub-
lic schools is 319 with an average attendance ot
301. Ten white children and three Indians at-
tended no school.
In Cloverdale there are 3(')1 childron between
five and seventeen, of whom 273 are enrolled
scholars, with an average daily attendance of
200 schola s. The number of pupils attend-
ing private schools is twenty-five, and sixty-
three children attending no school during the
year.
" In Sonoma City there are 336 children be-
tween five and seventeen and under five years
eighty-six. Tlie rolls show that 140 have at-
tended within the year and the average attend-
ance has l)een 118. The number attending pri-
vate acliools is seventy-one and attending none
125."
The following are the names of the school dis-
tricts of Sonoma County:
Alder Glen. Alexander, Alpine. American
Valley, Austin Creek, Bay, Bliss, Bloomtield,
Bodega, Burns, Burnside, Canfield. Cinnabar,
Cloverdale. Coleman Valley, Copeland, Court
House. Creighton Ridge. Davis, Dirigo, Dry
Creek, Dunbar, Dunham, Eagle, Enterprise, Eu-
reka, Fisk's Mills, Flowery, Fort lioss, Franz.
Freestone. Fulton. Creyser Peak, Geyserville.
Goodman, Grape, Green N'alley, Gaulala, Guil-
ford, Hall, Hamilton, Harvey. Healdsburg.
Ilearn, Hill, lloricon, Huichica, Icarir, Inde-
pendence, Iowa, Jonive, Junction, Knight's
Valley, La Fayette, Laguna, Lake. Lakeville.
Laurel Grove, Lewis, Liljerty, Llano, Lone Ked-
wood, Madrona, jSIanzanita, Mark West, Marin,
Mayacama, JMeeker, Mendocino, Mill Creek.
Miriam, Monroe. Mountain, Mountain View,
Mount Jackson, Mount Vernon. Muniz, Oak
Grove, Occidental, Ocean, Ocean A'iew, Oriental.
Payran, Pena, Petaluma. Finer, Pine liidge.
Pine Mountain. Pleasant Hill, Porter Creek,
Potter. Iledwood, Ilideidiour, Rincon, Rodgers,
Rose Hill, Russian River, San Antonio, San
Luis, Santa Rosa, Scotta, Sheridan, Sonoma, So-
toyome, Spring Hill, Star, Steuben, Stewart's
Point, Stony Point, Stra>vberry, Summit, Sum-
mit Point, Table Mountain, Tarwater, Timber
Cove, Todd, Two Rock, Vine Hill, Walker, Wal-
lace. Washington, Watmaugh, Watson, Waugh,
W^heeler, Wilson, Windsor, Wright.
There are sixty churches in this county, rep-
resenting the following religious denominations,
with the number of organizations of eacli:
Methodist Episcopal, 13; Methodist Episcopal
South, 8; German Methodist, 2; Presbyterian,
BISTORT OF SONOMA COUNTY.
U, with one mission; Catliolif, (i; ('liristiuii, 7;
CoiigregationaU 3; Baptist, 8; Episcopal, 8,
witli two embryo; miscellaneous, fi; total. HO,
with three einbrjo-missions.
Tn tlieso chapters we have endeavored to
t'aitiifiiii}' delineate the progress made by So-
noma County since it came under American
occupancy. AVe found it a comparative wild,
with elk. deer and antelo[ie grazing in perfect
security on the shores of San Pablo Bay, and
we leave it with orchards and vineyards sur-
rounding Cloverdale, a thriving incorporated
town on her northern border. While we may
seem to have been boastful of the progress made
in less than four decades, yet we now east the
horoscope of the future of Sonoma County, and
predict that the historian ot her next four
decades will have the pleasing task of recording
more remarkal)le strides in growth and material
prosperity than it has been our privilege to
record ; for then thousands upon thousands of
acres of land now used as sheep-walks and cow-
pastures will be devoted to orchards and vines,
and a happy, thrifty population will be found
where now large land holdings present a bar to
progress and development. The present large
land-holdings is sim])ly an aftermath of Spanish
granti*, and as those grants like the Roman
Empire, fell to pieces of their own weight, so
too will these accumulations of broad acres be a
thing of the past within the next generation.
There is no extravagance in claiming that
Sonoma County, as a whole, is one of the most
favored counties in the State. l*'or diversity of
soul, climate, scenery atul productions, she can
challenge comparison with almost any territory
of like scope in the world. This, taken in con-
nection with her geographical position and
ready facilities for rapid and cheap communica-
tions with San Francisco, the great metropolis
of the Pacific Coast, predestines her to grand
achievements in the line of population aiul
wealth. With her southern extremity washed
by San Pablo Bay and a long stretch of her
western border laved by the Pacific Ocean, and
at short intervals coves iind estuaries artbrd-
ing safe mooring to coasting vessels, it gives a
facility for cheap transportation which jtrecludcs
the possibility of her ever lieing forced to pay
tribute to exacting freight moiuipolies. In con-
junction with these advantages her geographical
position places her in a most favored situation
as relates to rain and moisture. The unerring
testimony of the weather-guage for a long series
of years is that Sonoma ('Oiinty represents the
etjuitable mean betwixt the excessive humidity
of the northern tier of counties and the tendency
to periodic droughts of the southern portion of
the State. Here there is no scanning of the
heavens with wistful gazeand the watching with
solicitude every cloud that flecks the sky wearied
with conjecture as to whether or no seed time
and harvest will come. AVitli Sonoma County
there never has lieen and never can be any fear
of failure of crops on account of drought. There
mijy be variableness of seasons and light crops
contradistinction to heavy crops, but a total crop
failure, never. Many there are in this county
who, we apprehend, do not themselves fullv
appreciate the blessings they enjoy in this
respect. Such have become so accustomed to
gathering where they have not strewn, and reap-
ing where they have not tilled, that they have
come to accept these bounties as a right rather
than a great and priceless boon to be thankful
for. As yet our people have been mainly con-
tent to gather the fat that has spontaneouslv
exuded from an over generous soil. This skim-
ming process has had its day and a new condi-
tion of affairs is slowly but surely obtaining,
and the adaptability of our soil to an almost
infinite variety of products of farm, orchard and
garden, cannot fail to invite a population such
as will take a(l\antage of all these favorable
conditions and woo aiul win from the eartli its
yet reserved treasures. Our twenty-five miles
of breadth and fifty miles of length of county is
in itself a principality in point of diversified re-
sources. While our field for husbandry alone
is ample to insure, in time, a dense population,
yet we are possessed of other and inexhaustible
sources ot' industry and wealth. Our vast red-
232
nrsTonr op sonoma cotTNTY.
wood forests arc iniiies ol' untold wealth, wliicli
for ages to oome will jrive employinciit to laljor
and capital. The (quicksilver mines in our
mountain fastnesses arc deveio])ing into im-
portance, and their jjroducts are goin<^ forth to
swell the commerce of tlic world. Lever and
last have unlocked our vast quarries and tlie
time is drawing near when a wliole fleet of
small vessels will be requisite to supply the
demand of San Francisco for our indispensahle
pavinir blocks. This industry is in its infancy
yet ; but that our durable sipiare paving mater-
ial is destined, in time, to wholly supplant the
liitherto rough and noise-producing cobble pave-
ments of San Francisco is fust as certain as that
the steam thresher has supplanted the tlail on
the farm. These are only a few of the manj'
growing industries adjunct to our staple pro-
ducts of farm and dairy. And in conjunction
with all this where in the wide world is pre-
sented in the same scope of territory so varied
and diversitied a medley of climate and scenery ?
The fnrnuT embi-aces every deiJree from the
ciiol and invigorating hcasliore climate to a
degree of warmth verging upon tropical heat.
The latter presents a pleasing panorama, enibrac-
ing every shade of scenery from placid valleys
mellowed by the golden tints of ripeiungharvests
to mountain gorges and beetling cliffs where tlie
murmering of evergreen foi-ests have for untold
ages been the harp-like accompaniment to the
music of rippling streams and thunderincr cata-
racts. For all time to come the mountains of
Sonoma (njunty will be a favorite place of resort
for thdsc ill quest of health and ])leasu.-e. In
her mountain wilds are innumerable mineral
springs, many of which have already attained
wide celebrity on account of their health-restor-
ing properties. Thus in a very brief way we
have made mention of our country's resources
and her possible future. "We have seen her first
third of a century's progress, and feel confident
tliat she has but just entered upon the threshold
of a brighter future yet in store for her. We
leave her resting to the future, for •• the eternal
years of (iod are hers."
'^^-^^^^^
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNT F.
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3H Jffi i£^SZP-i? FITPPlFSBfgHSIg E S HgJ
BANa"A Rosa, i
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CllAlTEIl XXYII.
ToWNSHH- HIsroKV — -(.KOWTH OF THE CITY BUSINESS INTEKEST^ — AI)DKK>S uF IIuN. G. A. JnHj\>UN
Cll L'KCIIES SCHOOLS THE PRESS.
fANTA liOSA Towiislii]) has a wealtli of
soil and climate that, as yet, is not Cully
appreciated, and the "City of Roses" has
a I'uture of greatness and prosperity ahead of it
which this generation little wots of. In de-
lineating the history of this township and city
we have, by permission, drawn largely upon the
excellent history of it written by Hon. II. A.
Thompson, who is a long resident of that place,
and as County Clerk, was in a position to speak
with great accuracy upon all subjects upon
which he used his facile pen.
■'Santa Rosa Township is in the heart (if the
County of Sonoma. It extends from the sum-
mit of the high range separating Napa from
Sonoma County across the great Central Valley
of Santa Rosa to the Laguna, which is its
western boundary. On the north it is bounded
by Knight's Valley and Russian River Town-
ship, on the south by retahnna, Vallejound So-
noma 'J'ownships.
" It has a larger proportion of level than of hill
land, and a number of beautiful subsidiary val-
leys tributary to the main valley, all of which
will hereafter be fully described.
>' The honor of giving the beautiful name of
Santa Rosa to this section is due t(j I'athcr
.Juan .\nior<jso, the foumler of the Mission i)\'
San Rafael. This zealous priest, on the 8()th
day of August, 182U, was in this region on a
proselyting expedition, in company with one
Jose Cantua. He was driven otf by the hos-
tiles while in the act of conferring upon a young
Indian woman the rite ot baptism. The priest
and his companion took hurriedly to their
horses, and Hod with all possible speed down
the valley, escaping their pursuers. It being
the day on which the church celebrated the
feast of Santa Rosa de Lima, I-"atlier Amoroso
named the stream from that circumstance. The
valley then came to be called after the stream
--the Valley of Santa Rosa - fortunately one ot
the most beautiful names, as its original was
one of the most beautiful eharacters in the
calendar of American saints. It is related of
Father .\moroso, who must have had some
poetry as well as piety in his nature, that he
named the horse which bore him so swiftly over
the ])lain, "Centella," meaning lightning in
the English vernaculai'. All honor to the gal-
lant friar and his companion Jose, to whose
courageous spirit we owe the legacy which this
expedition left us — the name of Santa Rosa.
" The first settlement was made, and the first
furrow was turmiil in Santa itosa Township by
a plucky young Irishman, whose name was
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
John T. Read. He was born in Dublin in 1805.
He had an uncle wlio was a sea-faring man.
Young Read left Ireland with hini at the age of
fifteen years, bound upon a voyage to Mexico.
He sailed from Acapulco for California, and
reached this State in 1820, just after he had at-
tained his majoi-ity. He settled in Sancelito,
and applied for a grant there, but failed to get
it on *^he ground that the land was wanted for
the use of the Government. He was not discour-
aged, nor was he timid. He came into what is
now Sonoma County, and made the first settle-
ment outside the mission at Sonoma. Moreover,
he was the lirst English-speaking settler in the
count}', and was the first Irishman who settled
anywhere in the State. He made application
in 1827 for a grant of his settlement, which
was in the vicinity of the residence of Robert
Crane, but before he could perfect it the In-
dians drove him off, burning his crop of wheat
and all of his improvements. He was set back,
but not disheartened. Soon after this disaster
he engaged with Padre Quivas as mayor-domo
of San Rafael. In 1832 he went to reside at
Saucelito, and sailed a small craft iietween the
peninsula and San Francisco — the first ferry es-
tablished on the bay or in the State of California.
•' Young Read made a second effort to get
a grant at Saucelito, and failed. He then uni-
ted himself in marriage with one of the hand-
some hijasdel 2M>^i and soon after was granted
the rancho Cort de Madera del Presidio, in
Marin County. He established himself on his
ranch, but in 1843, seven years after his mar
riage, he was taken with a fever, and dieil at the
age of thirty -eight years.
''This brief notice is due .^[r. Read, who was
the very first settler of any nationality in San-
ta Rosa Township. It is to be regretted that
lie did not live to enjoy the reward of his per-
severance, and to have seen the future, of which
he must sometimee have mused and dreamed in
his lonely settlement under the shadow of Co-
tatc Peak.
•' The next settlement in Santa Rosa Town-
ship was in the Guillucos Rancho; The next,
and first permanent settler in the neighliorhood
of the present town of Santa Rosa, was Senora
Maria Y'gnacia Lopez de Carrillo.
''This lady came upon the invitation of
(jeneral Vallejo, as a colonist from San Diego,
al)ont the time of the Hijar colonization scheme.
She reached Sonoma in 1837, resided there onv
year, and came to Santa Rosa.
" Senora Carrillo was a woman of more than
average courage and energy, as is proven be
her settlement on the frontier, in the midst of
hostile Indians. She had a large family — five
boys and seven girls — and she carved for
them out of the wilderness, but a beautiful
wilderness it was, a local liabitation and a home.
That she had good taste and judgment, as well
as courage and industry, is evidenced by her
choice of Santa Rosa, when all the valleys of
this county were open to occupation. The pio-
neer mother in Santa Rosa died in iN^li, ami
her estate was divided among her children. All
of the site of the present city of Santa Rosa
was included in the boundaries of the grant
made to Senoi'a Carrilhi.
•' It is said that at the time of the occupation
of the valley by Senora Carrillo there were
3,000 Indians living in the neighborhood of the
present city. The principal rancheria was on
the Smith farm, just below the bridge, at the
crossing of Santa Rosa Creek, on the road lead-
ing to Sebastopol. Upon this site a mission
was commenced, probably by Father Amoroso,
whose zeal in the cause of Christianity kept
him always on the debatable line between the
natives and •' la gente de razon,'" as the Cali-
fornians were called, or called themselves.
" The Indians rose up and destroyed the in-
cipient mission buildings about the same time
that the mission of Sonoma was devastated.
Tiiere was not one adobe left upon another.
Julio Carrillo says that when he came, in 1838.
the uuirks where the buildings stood were plain-
ly discernable.
" The chief of the Cainemeros tribe, when
the first settlement was made in Santa Rosa,
was called Junipero — his baptiamal name^aft^
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
er tlie founder of the missions of Alta Cali-
fornlH. His tribe was munerous and powerful.
Tliere were many tliousands Indians in the
county at this time, but they were doomed to
!-]ieedy destruction, and even tlien were under
tlie shadow of an approaching pestilence.
" In the year 1838 a corporal by the name of
Ygnacio Miramontes contracted the disease of
small-pox at Ross. It spread to the Indians.
They fled to their " temescales " or sweat-houses,
and from thence to a cold bath. Death speedily
came to the relief of the plague-stricken native.
''Tliey burned their dead. Julio Carrillo
says he has often seen the process. They would
build up a mausoleum of dry wood and twigs,
lay the body upon it, and cover it over with
other inflammable material. They would then
collect around the burning pyre, lacerate their
flesh, and utter dismal moans as the body slow-
ly consumed. When the burning was over,
which took but a short time, they gathered up
the ashes of the dead and strewed them over the
ground, and thus returned to the dust, from
whence it sprung, the ashes of the aborigines,
who came into possession of the soil with the
sequoias which shaded the rivei's in which they
trapped the iridescent trout, and the oaks which
furnished the acorns upon which they fed.
"There was nothing of interest connected
with this section from 1841 to 1840, when, on
the 14th day of June of that year, the revolt in
Sonoma began, which was to terminate only
with the transfer of the sovereignty of the
whole of Alta California to the United States,
which, with a rapidity unecjualed in the history
of the world, had extended her frontier, in flfty
years, from the Alleghany Mountains to the
Pacific Ocean."
Among the earliest farmers in Santa liosa
Township may be enumerated S. T. Coulter,
"William, David and Martin Hudson, James
Xeal, James and Charles Hudspeth, John
Adams, Itobert Smith, John Ingrew, J. N. Ben-
nett, the Elliotts, Ben Dewell, Achilles and Joe
Richardson, Wesley Matthews and Peterson
Urothersi
Santa Rosa Township is thus accurately de-
scribed by li. A. Thompson in his "Township
History: "'
" Santa Rosa Township contains an ai-ea
equal to fifteen miles square, about 13().()00
acres of land, one-half of which is rich alluvial
soil, occnpying the center of the groat central
valley of Sunonia (bounty.. The l)ottoin lands
are of unsurpassed' fertility, suited to the growth
of wheat, corn, oats, rye, barley, hops, and
especially for stone and seed fruit culture. The
remaining lands in the township may be classed
as hill, foothill and tributary valley land — the
latter meaning a number of valleys, of greater
or less extent, tributary t(j the central valley.
In each of the smaller valleys there is alluvial
soil along tlie water courses and volcanic soil in
the foothills. They are largely devoted to grape
culture. In these valleys, and upon the sur-
rounding hill lands, the best of the celebrated
vineyards of Sonoma County are located. .\o-
where is the planting of the vine so rapidly in-
creasing as in this class of lands.
"The climate is better than in the main \ al-
ley, which, being lower, catches more frost in
winter, and is more exposed to the fog and sea
breeze of summer. For staple crops and hardy
fruit-, prunes, plums, pears, apples and berries,
the rich alluvial of the bottom is especially
adapted. To ubtaiii the delicate flavor of the
grape, upon which the wine depends, the vol-
canic soil and more genial climate of the up-
lands is essential. The two locations combine
conditions rarely met in the same locality,
covering a wide range of agricultural pro<luots,
from the gross feeding hardy staples tu the
most <lelicate of the fruit and nut trees, includ-
ing the almond, apricot and the olive. ^
'• The valleys tributary to Santa Rosa are the
Guilioos, liennett, Pleasant, or Chaiiate, Rincoii
and Elliott.
"The first of these, the (iuilicos, is on the
southeasterly fork of Santa Rosa Creek. It is
one of the most beautiful locations in the State.
Hood Mountain overlooks it. At the base of
this peak is the celebrated Guilicus vineyard,
220
HISTORY OF SONOMA GOUNTT.
now tlie property of Mrs. William Iloud. It
includes 350 acres, and lias long been culcbrated
for the superiority of its wine and brandy. The
soil is red in color> and very productive. In
this section there are a number of vinegrovver.-;,
Samuel Hutchinson, Henry Bolle, James I^.
Clark, AV. 15. Atterbury and others. The area
in grapes is rapidly extending.
"The stream fiowing from the Guilicos
northward, unites with the Alamos branch,
coming into the valley from about due east.
The united w.iters take the name of Santa Rosa
Creek, and, soon after, this stream debouches
on the Santa Rosa plain, across wliich it flows
in a westerly direction to the Laguna. Before
reaching the plain, however, Santa Rosa Creek
cuts across the face of two other valleys of
considerable e.xtent and importance, the Rincou
and r>enuett valleys.
"The 'Alamos' branch of Santa Rosa Creek
rises in the high hills separating Napa from
Sonoma County. Mark West Creek, which
biiunds Santa Rosa Townshij) on the north,
I'ises in the same crest, flows north and then
turns across the plain, uniting with the Laguna,
antl ultimately fimling its outlet, through Rus-
sian River, to the sea. Sonoma Creek, which
partly bounds Santa Rosa Township on the
south, rises on the opposite side of the same
hills. It flows southwesterly, then almost due
^iiuth, through Sonoma Valley into the Ray of
San Francisco. In all these streams trout are
caught, affording good sport to lovers of the
rod and reel.
" Rincon, in the Spanish language, means a
corner, and Rincou Valley is literally a corner
in the hills. It is a rich corner, a jiockct, out
of which a considerable sum of coin is taken
year after yeai', in agricultural jiroducts.
"The Rincon lies north of Santa Rosa Creek,
and is about two miles in width and three and
a half or four miles in length. Tlie climate is
mild and the soil is well adapted to gra|>(^ and
fruit culture.
" It is becoming quite a favorite location for
fruit and vine culture. The celebrated Wells
vineyards are in the hills, at the head of the
Rincon, one of the very best grape plantations
in Sonoma County. This vine3'ard was recently
purchased by Charles Duntz, and contains, old
and new vines, 145 acres. The total acreage of
old and new vines in the valley is 527 acres.
" The Rincon is separated from Santa Rosa
Valley by a ridge known as Rincon Heights,
which forms the background of the city of
Santa Rosa. Guy E. (-Jrosse, Esq., the owner of
the land, built a grade road over the heights at
his own private cost. This drive is a great ad-
dition to the suburban attractions of the city.
From the summit of the heights, about two
miles from the city, the view is one of e.xti-aor-
dinary beauty. The roofs of the taller houses,
church and college steeples, show up through
the trees in which the city is embosomed. The
great plain of Santa Rosa extends north and
south of the city for a distance of twenty-five
.miles. Scattered groves of oak grow over the
plain, giving an artistic finish to the landscape.
On the west the view is arrested by the Coast
Range, at whose notched and rock-pinnacled base
the restless sea leaps and falls back with un-
ceasing moan.
" Turning eastward, Bennett, (Tuilicosand liin-
con valleys, interlaced amid mountains, meet
the view. The Yulupa, or Bennett Beak, Hood
ilountain and its twin volcanic sister, on the
south side of Sonoma Creek, stand up in l>old
relief, and challenge admiration. If there is
anything finer than tlie west view from Rincon
Heights it is the grouping of valley and mount-
ain, which makes up the landscape on its
southeasterly side.
" Bennett Valley is -the largest of the valleys
tributary to Santa luisa. It has an average
length of seven miles and is from two and a
half to three miles in width. It opens out a
wide frontage on Santa Rosa Creek, the stream
which flows through the valley, emptying into
Santa Rosa Creek within the corporate limits of
the city. This stream is called Matanzas Creek_
South of the town, the range which separates
Bennett from Santa Rosa Valley appears. It is
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
a spur of the main Sonoma Range. Tliis ridge
is of open land of considerable value; first, be-
cause tlie soil is good, and next, because it lies
just within the warm belt and is exempt from
frost.
" I'ennett Valley is largely devoted to grape
culture. In the center of the valley is the vine-
yard of Mr. De Turk, one of the State Viticult-
ural Commissioners, and the owner of the
superbly equipped wine cellar in Santa liosa,
whicii lias a capacity for the manufacture of
300,000 gallons of wine.
" Bennett Valley has about 15,000 acres of
land, and has a population of 300; there is an-
nually produced 500 tons of grapes, 5,000
boxes of apples, 4,000 boxes of other fruit,
1,450 tons of hay, 25,000 bushels of wheat, 600
bushels of oats, 15,000 bushels of barley, 400
horses, 1,000 head of cattle, 4,000 sheep, 2,000
hogs.
" Bennett Valley can justly claim the honor
of having a school and a school-house among
the first, if not the very first, in the township.
It was called Santa Rosa District, took prece-
dence in the name, and forced the district in
Santa Rosa, which was organized afterward, to
adopt the not very happy name of court-house
district. This school was first taught in an old
building on the Glen Cook place. David Ogan
was the teacher, and received a salary of .^100
a month. In the fall of 1853 a good building
was put up near the bridge. When it was built
there were just thirteen contributoi's to it
there was no school fund out of which to Iniild
school-houses in those days. Thirty children
attended the school.
" Alpine Valley is distant aliout six miles
from Santa Rosa. It is reached by a road from
the Rincon, over a low divide, wliich separates
the two valleys. It is not large, Init has a con-
siderable stock interest, and some vineyards.
" Elliott Valley, on Porter (^reek, a branch of
Mark West, lies east of the Mark West Springs,
and about nine miles from Santa Rosa. This is
a small but fertile valley, inliabited by a number
of eiiterprising farmers, among whom may be
mentioned M. W. Tarwater and W. J. Arnold
This valley has no especial name, and might
most appropriately be called Elliott Valley.
•' W. I>. Elliott, the discoverer of Geyser
Springs, and a daring hunter and pioneer, re-
sided at this place in 1846, when the bear fiag
war began. He related to me, just prior to his
death, the particulars of his residence there and
his discovery of the Geyser Springs.
"Considerable farming is done in this valley,
and there is an increasing fruit and grape inter-
est. The hills surrounding Elliott Valley are
covered with a soil having very marked charac-
teristics, and it would not be surprising if the
grapes from this section should produce a wine
of great excellence. Not far from here, n])on
like soil, the Schramm vineyard, which pro-
duces the celebrated Schramm berger wine, is
situated. It is possible that the Elliott Valley
wine may prove of equal value.
"There is a small valley near Santa Rosa in
which the County Farm is located, known as
Pleasant Valley. It is largely devoted to grape
culture. This valley is principally noted for
being the scene of the assassination of the Bear
Flag party by the Californians. There is a large
grape interest just north of Santa Rosa, in the
foothills, bordering the Santa Rosa plain on the
east, extending to Mark West Creek. Follow-
ing are the principal grape-growers and the
number of acres set out: T. L. Harris, Fount-
aingrove farm, 380 acres, one of the largest
vineyards in the county; II. P. Holmes, ninety
acres; H. II. Harris, thirty; J. Stewart, fifty;
R. Forsythe, twenty-five; W. J. Breitlauch.
twenty-five; M. Maillard, forty. Total acreage
in that district, 640 acres.
"The country we have described is the back-
ground of Santa Rosa. The principal agricult-
ural wealth of the township is in the level
plain extending west of the town to Sebastopol,
for about eight miles, and north and south foi'
a greater distance. This laud is principally
deep alluvial soil, which in the season of 1882
produced in the main fifty bushels of wheat to
the acre. That was an extra good wheat year;
338
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
but it will average thirty bushels one season
with another. This land, which has heretofore
been largely devoted to the growth of wiieat and
otiier staple crops, is now being snl>divide<l into
small tracts, and is now, or will be, set to fruit,
to the growth of which it seems to be especially
adapted. It will produce any crop reijuiring a
strong soil. Grapes and some fruits make too
much wood, but for pears, prunes, and other
fruits, it cannot be surpassed."
Santa Rosa, designated as the " City of
Roses,"' is well entitled to the appellation, for
it certainly ranks next to San Jose and Santa
(^lara as a Sylvan retreat. It has an energetic,
wide-awake population wlio know that their
lives have been cast in a pleasant place, and
they are willing to have others come and enfoy
it with them.
It was founded in iSoS and became the
county-seat of Sonoma County in 1854:. The
first house built in the town of Santa Rosa was
built by John Bailiff for Julio Carrillo. A
town had already been started at wliat is now
the junction of the Sonoma, Bodegar & Russian
River roads, called Franklin Town, and some
business houses started there; but this town was
drawn into the vorte.\ of Santa Rosa, and its
projectors Ijecame active participants in found-
ing a fcity that has made marvelous progress
According to R. A. Thompson's Township Ills-'
tory among the very tirst residents of Santa
Rosa were Obe Rippeto, Jim Williamson, J. M.
Case, John Ingram, Dr. Boyce, the late William
Ross, Judge Temple, W. B. Atterbur}', S. G.
and J. P. Clark, and Charles W. Wliite.
ilr. Ilahman sold out his business to B.
Goldfish. He was joined by Morris and Henry
A¥ise, under the firm name of Wise & Goldfish.
Mr. William Wilson bought into tiie firm witliin
the past few years, and it is now Goldfish, Wil-
son & Co., the oldest established business in
Santa Rosa.
Judge Jackson Temple and the late Colonel
William Ross came to Santa Rosa with the
county seat. The late William Williamson, of
the Samoan Islands, tauglit the first school in
the old Masonic Hall. Donald McDonald was
postmaster at the " Old Adobe." He Was suc-
ceeded l)y F. G. Ilahman, who first servc^d as Post-
master in tlic city of Santa Rosa. Barney Iloen
was the agent of Adams iV Co.'s Express; J.
W. Ball built a small house, II. Beaver, a black-
smith shop, C. C. More, a house and wagon
shop, W. S. Burch, a saddle-tree factory. The
old Masonic Lodge Hall was the first public
building in the town.
Among the very first merchants in Santa
Rosa were B. Marks, now of Ukiah, and his part-
ner, M. Rosenberg, still residing here.
Mr. Iloen sold out his business to G. ^'.
Miller, who was an original character, but very
popular. He was succeeded in business by the
late Dr. John Henley.
The growth of Santa Rosa was slow but
steady for about fifteen years, when it suddenly
went forward with amazing rapidity — doubling
its population in the decade between 1860 and
1870; and from that time onward its progress
has been steady and substantial. In 1867 Santa
Rosa was incorporated as a city with the follow-
ing officers: C. W. Langdon, J. F. Boyce, T. B.
Hood, B. Marks, A. P. Petit, Trustees; E. T.
Turner, Treasurer; H. E. Parks, Marshal; J.
H. Richardson, Assessor.
In 1869 Santa Rosa secured the location there
of the Pacific Methodist College that had lon^
been conducted at Yacaville, Solano County.
This naturally attracted to the place many fami-
lies on account of the educational advantages
offered.
In 1870 the o^s^orthern Pacific Railroad was
completed to Santa Rosa and it seemed to give
to it an impetus that lasted for years, and what
had been a modest village of the plains l)egan to
take on the form of a wide-awake bustling city.
The completion of the Santa Rosa »fc Carqui-
nez Railroad to that place in 1887 has made it
a fixed finality that Santa Rosa is to grow into
the magnitude of one of the most populous in-
land cities in the State. It has made marvelous
strides in the last decade, aiul will round u{)
the century with a showing of progress such as
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
is seldom seen exliibitcd by a city of its age.
Alrea<ly it presents a sliowinji of iron front
Imildings, paved streets and patent stone side-
walks tliat gives to it quite a metropolitan
appearance. Its street railroads are great con-
veniences, and are great aids in attracting a de-
sirable class of residents to the place. It is a
veritable " City of Roses," an<l to its enterpris-
ing people are to be congratulated, for most
assuredly " their lives have fallen in pleasant
places."
Santa llosa has fostered and built up a large
number of manufacturing industries. Every
line of mechanical' art is well represented. These
industries are so varied and numerous as to pre-
clude description and speciticatiou of each. So,
too, every line of general business is fully repre-
sented, and conducted on a scale worthy of that
prosperous and growing city.
We note a few of the most important institu-
tions of that city:
Santa Rosa Bank.- -The. oldest bankinghouse
in the city of Santa Rosa was incorporated
August 20, 1870, and opened its doors for busi-
ness November 21st of that year with a capital
stock of $100,000. Owing to the rapid develop-
ment of tlie country and the consequent growth
of business, it was found necessary to increase
the capital stock in 1873 to s300,000, its present
volume. The iirst board of directors was com-
posed of E. T. Farmer, A. Thomas, T.N. Willis,
David Hnnis and C". G. .\mes. E. T. Farmer
was president of the bank from its organization
till his death, in October, 1885. AVilliam E.
McConnell was then elected president and has
filled the otKce up to the present time. C. G.
Ames was the iirst cashier, and was succeeded
in December, 1878, by W. B. Atterberry, who
served in that capacity until Sejttcmber 1882,
when bo resigned and Mi-. L. \V. liunis, the
present cashier, was elected. • In 1878 thenum-
berof directors was increased from five to seven;
the board is now coMij)osed of AVilliam \\. Mc-
Connell, Thomas Hopper, James II. Laughlin,
John S. Taylor, David iJunis, J. C. Maddox and
Allen A. Curtis. In addition to the gentlemen
above named E. II. Barns, David Clark, John
A. Paxton, J. Temple, W. E. Cooke and
Richard Fulkerson have been members of the
board of directors since the bank was opened.
From its inception Santa Rosa Bank has always
been under the control of some of the oldest
and most judicious business men of Sonoma
County, and the policy of the management has
ever been conservative and safe. Hence it has
done a large business and its career has been one
of uninterrupted prosperity. The stock, on
which the bank has been and is now paying
eight per cent, dividends, is nearly all owned by
citizens of this county. The bank has an
accumulated reserve of §85,000 and a surplus
of over $20,000. Having been the first bank
organized, and for a number of years the only
one in Santa Rosa, it lias had much to do with
the important public enterprises connected with
- the city. The bank is situated on Exchant^e
Avenue, opposite the court-house. The first
bank building was erected in 1872, and occupied
by the bank until September, 1888, when it was
moved into the more commodious new building
then completed for the purpose, one door north
of the old one. The new twostory building is
beautifully and tastefully finished and furnished,
and is one of the most elegant banking houses
in the State. It is furnishetl with a large safe
deposit vault, 10x20 feet in size inside and two
stories in height. It is fitted up with nearly
400 private safe deposit boxes of the most aj)-
proved patterns and convenient in arrangement
for the accommodation of patrons, the whole
being both fire and burglar proof.
Santa Rosa Savings Bank. — The Santa Rosa
Savings Bank was organized in 1873, with a
cajjital stock of $100,000. A. F^. Overton was
elected first president of the bank, and has held
that position down to the present day. The late F.
(4. Ilahman was the first cashier. He was suc-
ceeded by the ])reseut cashier, Mr. G. I'. Noo-
nan, a gentleman of high st;uiding and thorough
business capacity. The assistant cashier is
Mr. John P. Overton. Since its organization
the bank has increased its capital stock to $150,-
230
HISTORY OP SONOMA COUNTY.
000. The bank was a success from its start,
under the intelligent tinancial management of
Mr. Overton.
Sonoma Voiinti/ A<jricultiiral Park. — In tlie
latter part of 1878 a number of prominent
citizens determined to organize an association
uiidei- the corporate name of "Tlie Sonoma
County Agricultural Park Association." On
the 3()th day of December, 1878, the following
persons signed the articles of incorporation:
Dr. W. Finlaw, J. P. Clark, James Adams, II.
AV. Byington, Baker & Ross, Jos. Wright, W.
(i. Atkins, Murphy Bros., E. Latapie, U. P.
Quackenbusli, G. W. Savage, J.S.Taylor, Rags-
dale Bros., E. T. Mills. ' The articles of incor-
poration were filed in the office of the county
clerk on the 9th day of January, 187i). Follow-
ing were the first directors of the association:
Jos. Wright, James P. Clark, James Adams,
Wm. Finlaw, H. AV. Byington, E. Latapie,
Wymau Murphy. The capital stock of the
corporation was fi.xed at $25,000. Tiie sum paid
in amounted to $7,000 — about $500 apiece for
each of the original promoters. A tract of
eighty acres of land, adioining and partly in
tlie city limits, was purchased of the estate of
Dr. John Hendley for the sum of $5,000. For
tiie purpose of constructing a mile track, erect-
ing fences, stalls, grand stand, etc., a further
assessment was levied and collected, aggregating
tlie sum of $5,000. During the following year
the track and necessary buildings were com-
pleted.
The fair of 1888 was largely attended and
was a decided success. Hon. George A. John-
son, State Attorney-General, delivered the fol-
lowing able address:
Mr. President, Ladiks and (ii:NTi.i:MEN: — It
is pleasant to meet together again on this an-
nual occasion, to witness the exhibit of the
growing industries of Sonoma County, and talk
over its retrospect and its prospects. .
Some of yon when you first came hither were
young men flushed with excitement and hope
amid your new surroundings, but however rose-
colored were your dreams as to the future of
this county, tiiey have been more than realized,
thus proving that at times truth is stranger
than fiction. Time and again you have liad to
take back your dogmatic assertions as to Cali-
fornia's possibilities and impossibilities, in the
face of the all-convincing facts. In honor of
you,' the early projectors of our present pros-
perity, I will have sometliing to say in regard
to Sonoma's ^last, and then in honor of you all,
including this greater grouping of young men
and women of native sons and daughters, I will
have something to sa}' in regard to Sonoma's
present and future.
AVc refer with conimendalile pride to the
fact tliat here in this county the first steps were
taken to found a Republic in California. Here,
first of all, Americans severed their relations
with their sister country Mexico, and deter-
mined to set up for themselves. And they had
no sooner so determined than with characteristic
energy they made a successful assault, took
prisoners, and raised a flag. The bear flag
meant that they were in earnest; it typified per-
sistence and down-right stubbornness. It was
no gala-day flag, or flag appealing to esthetic
principles or wants. It \vas uncouth in its de-
sign and texture, but there was something about
it that rallied together a few hardy men to strike
for liberty and self-government. Sloat in Mon-
terey Bay soon hoisted another flag, the flag of
our common country, the bear flag w-as at once
taken down, and in its place the star spangled
banner run up. Then came others to Sonoma,
whose names have since become national — Per-
sifer F. Smith, Philip Kearney, George Stone-
man, Tecumseh Sherman, Old Joe Hooker,
Halleck, Fremont and Stone. Hooker was
elected road overseer, but got defeated when his
ambition led him to aspire as high as a seat in
the Legislature of California. Sherman capt-
ured a justice of the peace by the name of
Nash, because he was so pretentious as to claim
to be chief justice of the country, and took him
before Governor Mason, who proceeded to repri-
mand severely the chief justice, and then re-
leased him. Besides these leaders and generals
niSTOBT OF SONOMA COUNT T.
there were others who, though not written up
in history, were equally heroic. I mean the
privates in the ranks, many of whom have be-
come a part of the hone and sinew of Sonoma's
strength, and some of whom I see before me
to-day. Afterward others came to add laurels
to her civic wreatli. A young man all the way
from Massachusetts settled at Petaluma, having
lirst taken the precaution to appear in high-top
boots in honor of her tiien muddy streets, which
liave been since converted into the best of
tliorough fares, nailed np his law sign and began
to look about for business. He has since be-
come a distinguished jurist, of whom Sonoma is
justly proud. Among her lawyers, by common
consent, Wilkins was brilliant and Thomas pro-
found.
But it is not so much of the men of Sonoma
of whom I am to-day to speak as of her general
industrial development, the improvement of her
general well being; it is of her rise from a
wilderness, from her primitive adobe buildings,
lier mustang horses, her long-horned Spanish
cattle, to the Sonoma of today, with the prize
given her at the last Mechanics' Kair for the
best display of citrus fruits, with her vine-
covered hills and valleys, with her palatial resi-
dences, the homes of thrifty culture, with her
blooded stock, with her communication by rail
with the North and South, and lastly with the
East, and with the symmetrical development
under the best of climatic influences of a vigor-
ous manhood and lovely womanhood. Thus we
have fully realized the prophesy of Bayard Tay-
lor in respect to Sonoma, e.xpressed in those
matchless words:
"The wild, barbaric beauty of llij' face
Shall round to classic lines."
The little town of Sonoma was at one time
the most prosperous city north of the Bay of
San Francisco. Here, in this county, was first
erected a church north of the ])ay, the (Ireek
Church at Fort Ross, and here north of the bay
were first grown fruits and grain, planted or
sown by the Russians from Sitka. Now, how
changed is the landscape. Over the great cen-
tral valley, embracing the Petaluma, Santa Rosa
and Russian River valleys, has budded forth
into loveliness opening flowers of urban beauty
all along the line of the San Francisco & North
Pacific Railroad; and the picturesque valleys of
the Rincon, Los Gruilicos and Sonoma, so long
hidden from the view of the traveler, are brought
into direct communication with the East by the
new Carquinez Railroad. The earlier settle-
ment at Sonoma, though it has not kept pace
with the luxuriant development of other towns,
will always be rememliered for its historic in-
terest, and for the general culture of the people,
who have their happy homes in the country
around it. As great as has been the progress
of this country from the times when Charles V
sent forth his galleons to Mexico and Peru to
carry the Spanish arms to success under Cortez
and Pizarro; as great as has been its ])rogress
froin the time when Mexico declared her inde-
pendence of Spain, and the Monroe doctrine was
officially announced, which gave a final quietus
to the encroaching claims of Russia in these
borders; as great as has been its progress since
the bear Hag was raised and the star-spangled
banner gave the protection of a great people to
these far-off occidental shores; still greater will
be onr development in the future, when the
fertility and adaptation of our soil shall have
become better known, when the fact that here
degrees of latitude make no appreciable diflei--
ence in climatic deinarkation shall have become
better understood, and that Riverside and
Sonoma have nearly the same winter and sum-
mer temperature, although the latteris hundreds
of miles further to the north; when more per-
fect and expeditious shall have become our
communication with the East, by new discover-
ies and appliances, such as better motor power,
and the practical realization for long distances
of the newly-discovered electric pneumatic tube
in sending parcels, with the aid of the improved
phonograph in transmitting messages.
Agriculture is the greatest industry of the
world. Labor is the source of all wealth, and
Sonoma County is specially adapted for agricult-
HISTORY (IF SONOMA COUNTY.
lire. Our rainfall is oue-fourth greater tliau
that around San Francisco, and even without it
the dews of heaven are sufficient to fructify our
crops. The husbandman need not sow or plant
here as in many localities with uncertain hopes,
for a failure would be almost an anomaly in
life's experience. This of itself, with the
protection furnished by our coast range against
unpleasant and destructive winds, should concen-
trate attention on Sonoma. Tlie inter-commun-
ication by rail, which I have already spoken of,
opens up to us all tlie avenues of trade and
commerce. No better sanitarium can be found
for the invalid, nor more healthful airs to give
bloom to the cheek or tension to the muscles.
Our people, too, are a moral people, yielding
cheerful obedience to the laws. The young
generation among us is growing up nnder the
sheltering care of enlightened schools and col-
leges and the Christian church. When this
enumeration of our advantages is borne in mind,
it is no extravagance to predict the great appre-
ciation in landed property, which is destined
inevitably to come, and that, too, in the near
future.
Every male person should have an art or
trade, and let not the generous soil of Sonoma
be forgotten by our young people in making
their selection. If, in after years, they should
turn their attention to purely professional or
intellectual pursuits, the trade will be an aid
instead of an obstrnction.
It was in the shipyards of England that Peter
the Great learned how to teach the builders of
his navy. Henry the Eighth, with many other
accomplishments, was proficient in laying the
keel of a vessel. The present Prince of Wales
and his brother, the Duke of Edinburg, passed
their apprenticeship like any other midshipman
ill liritannia's waters.
Let our large holdings be subdivided, and
our young men have an opportunity to give in-
creased productiveness to the soil. If it is true
anywhere it is true of many parts of old Sonoma,
that every rod of ground can be made to main-
tain her man. When this condition of things
can be realized, even this successful tenth an-
nual fair of your association will be thrown far
into shadow by the princely outcome-of Ilnssian .
River and Dry Creek bottoms. The people may
hereafter call some of your boys from turning
what is metaphorically the stubborn glebe, to
the halls of legislation, the seat of justice, or
the government of the great State itself. Cin-
cinnatus was taken from the plow to honor the
headship of the Roman legions. Elisha was
holdino- well in hand his yokes of cattle when
the mantle of Elijah fell upon him. Cromwell,
amid the fadeless glories of his Ironsides, and
the discomfiture of the fiery Rupert, sighed for
the pastoral ditties of the home-land, where
jocund he used to drive his team afield. Joan
of Arc, amid the splendors of the coronation of
her King at Rheims, preferred to doff her un-
sullied suit of white armor and tend the sheep
which had been her care in the Vosges forest.
And, lastly, our Washington, who was called
from rural life to the leadership of our armies,
sheathed the sword which had won freedom for
a nation, and betook himself again to his home
at Mount Vernon, where he could see from his
porches the traucpiil flow of the Potomac and
dispense a varied culture and boundless hospi-
tality among the scions of old English stock.
Although the husbandman has his days of
toil, yet they have been greatly lessened by
modern discoveries and appliances ; and he has
many opportunities for (piiet research and suc-
cessful observation and experimentation.
The greatest discoveries have been made in
this way, not only in the fleld of agricultural
labor, but in all great inquiries. Many a man
following in the footsteps of Archimedes of old,
has exclaimed " Eureka '" as he has seen all at
once the object for which he has so long striven
attained.
Noticing the falling of an apple ultimately
settled the question of universal gravitation.
The swinging of a church lamp enabled Galileo
to grasp at the idea of the pendulum and the
exact measurement of time, and tins siiould
operate as an incentive to some of you who are
ItlSTORT OF SONOMA COUNTY.
presumably a little lax in your church attend-
ance. Jacob not only learned, but lias fought, a
lesson in seeing his piebald flock disporting
themselves among the peeled poplars and hazels.
Indeed, you have nothing to do in order to
verify these observations but to look upon your
vineyards, whicli, standing with the old Mission
stock, have been improved by grafts from Italy^
Spain, France and Germany, until Sonoma lias
now become the recognized habitat of the most
successful viticulture. You know that the
potato was once a semi-poisonons tuber, that
the apple has grown into all its lusciousness
from its dwarfed paternal crab, and that even
the sheep with its soft merino wool had its great
ancestor with a different coating, like the hair of
a goat. Our modern flowers, with their rich
varied hues and perfumed essences, liave been
the outgrowth of constant labor in propagation
and successful experimentation.
The age is an utilitarian age. It is the age of
positive and appreciable results. If men set
their heads together to breed ahorse which will
lower the record of Maud S and trot his mile in
two minutes, the chronicles of some subsequent
fair will tell you the feat has been accomplished.
If the object to be attained is an orange more
luscious than that of Riverside, if a flower more
delicate than the \iolet, if a perfume nmrc
sweetly diff'using tiian the helioti-o])e, if a rose
redder than the jacqueminot, if a grajje more
flaming than the Flaming Tokay, the result of
continued observation, experiment and compari-
son of views will be the attainment of these
new fruits and flowers to be added to the present
wealth of our horticulture and floral kingdoms.
It requires patience, intelligence, persistence,
hopefulness, but the end will sooner or later be
reached, and the man who succeeds has done
something to increase tlie blessings of mankind,
and to perpetuate his name to posterity.
I'"()r successful agricultural work where it
accords with your children's inclinations and
aptitudes, they should be sent to the liigher
technical schools, where they may learn the
principles of applied science, become skilled in
electralysis or the analysis of soils, be taught
meteorology even if there is no danger of our
weather becoming cyclonic as in the East, and
become learned in insects and their parasites,
which is all important in our fruit-growing and
wine-producing counties. The French Govern
ment has a standing reward of a large amount
offered for the discovery of an antidote to the
phyloxera. Such a discovery would not only
revitalize old French vineyards, but would re-
clothe or maintain in their pristine luxuriance
and prolificness the vineyards of California.
If the orange suffers from the scale, some-
thing should be found to act as the scale's evil
genius and destroy the destroyer.
Even our purely cereal-producing counties are
interested in arresting the ravages of these little
pests or discovering some insectivorous parasites.
These discoveries will be made, and a crown-
ing triumph yet awaits the discoverers, not only,
it is to be hoped, in universal benediction, and
a memory which the world will not willingly
let fade from the long roll of its benefactors, but
also in well-earned compensation.
But if any one has no aptitude or inclination
for this kind of labor and research, it should
not be enforced, for science delights in always
having a free and voluntary homage from the
votaries at her shrine.
There are two departments of scientiflc in-
(piiry, and neither should be despised ; one is
the imaginative or theoretical, the other the
mechanical or practical. Some of the greatest
discoveries have been made as if by intention,
and without any previous training of thought.
Other men took up the idea and practicalized it
in the workshop, the laboratory or on the forge.
One workman was the compliment of the other,
and neither could be a success without the other's
assistance. Both combining their eff'orts, t.be
civilization and well-being of the age have been
immeasurably advanced. Morse could see clearer
than others that the electric telegraph would
work successfully, and that all that was neces-
sary to do was to make it work. It took the
cool head and plastic touch of a mechanician
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
like Aaron Vail to surround it with the jiruper
appliances and adaptations and thus the com-
bined efforts of tlie two have given the world
substantially the working telegraphy of the pres-
ent day.
We are to perform a mission here according
to our respective talents. Let them not be kept
buried, but burnished. "We need clearly to ap-
prehend the wants of the time, and then to
move on to the attainment of the best results.
Let the poor, crazy Knight of La Mancha do all
the fighting with the windmills. Our aim
should be to deal with the practical and tangi-
ble. We should take advantage of the con-
quests of others, of all the discoveries, endeavor
to add to them, and not fight over again the
same old battles when there is no foeman to
strike.
Let our civil and religious liberties severely
alone. They are doing well enough, baptized
as they are in blood, written in charters nearly
a thousand years old. and now secured by the
double-plated armor of constitutional law.
These contests ha^'e had their day, and the
right finally triumphed. There was a principle at
stake and the principle was won. The names of
the heroes are written in history, consecrated in
song, and the mention of them still stirs our
hearts like a trumpet, as Sidney's heart was
stirred by the old story of Percy and Douglass.
To tight for and acquire these rights was indeed
true glory; not the false glory which inspired
an Alexander, a Ca;sar or a Napoleon, who little
recked of the thousands and hundreds of thou-
sands who fell in their bloody triumphs to gain
for them pelf, power and place. The country is
exposed to no stern alarums that may be bounded
by some border foe. It will not do to trifle with
the majesty of a great nation, which at almost
a moment's call can have three millions of sol-
diers marching from center to circumference for
the purposes of a common defense.
Therefore, we should dismiss all cliimerical
conceits, and address ourselves to important
questions, questions which concern our material
development, the furnishing of a Itctter well-
l)eing, tiie adding of home comforts and fireside
joys.
Are you aware of tlie fact that our niotlier
country had no fireside till aliout tlie reign of
Queen Elizabeth? Then the hearth was laid
and the mantle covered with ornaments instead
of smoke curling among tlie rafters or lilacken-
ing the unglazed windows. It was the com-
mencement of the rude home life of our fore-
fatiiers, the influences of whicli were destined
to radiate from the domestic circle for the better-
ment of the State.
Here, in this far-away- land, under your own
vine and fig tree, with a generous soil and a
genial climate, or rather an aggregation of cli-
mates, made still more genial by the appliances
of drainage and arboculture, you can greatly add
to the happiness, the conveniences and beauty
of your homes. You can place on your tables
for reading the best of our magazines and peri-
odicals that deal in the literature of the farm.
By these aids and your daily observation you
can inaugurate a thorough experimentation that
will afterward bear fruit in improved agricult-
ural methods, better and more varied products,
thoroughbred stock, and general home comforts.
A society or neighborhood with such facilities as
you have or can have, by frequent interchange
of views, enlightened l)y special reading and a
comparison of results, will not oidy leave its
impress upon the immediate local community,
but will afiect favorably the county and State at
large, and add to the thoroughness and success
of these annual occasions. It will also tend to
implant a more general desire in others for the
cultivation of the soil and rural comforts.
Young men will gradually be drawn away from
the vortex of city dissipation, and will begin to
build up for themselves some lofty, bucolic ideal.
Many a panorama of scenic beauty, as yet un-
disclosed, will be opened up. A succession of
charming villas, the abode of thrifty culture,
will dot the landscape over and remind us of the
far-famed beauties of the Hudson and the Rhine.
This picture is destined to be the future of
much of this conntv, which is situated near the
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
iiietropolis, and which is so admirably and con-
veniently located, with reference to the avennes
and centers of trade.
As Sonoma Connty was first among the early
settlements of this State, as it is greater than
any other county in its early historic associa-
tions and interests, so let it be our endeavor to
make it stand forth in the fore-front of the pro-
ducing counties, crowned not only with its well-
deserved citrus wreath, but with other agricult-
ural wreaths as well, the proud aiiiding place
of intelligent and cultured farmers, wide-awake
to every imjM'overaent, unceasing in experimen-
tation, characterized by a thorough, thrifty and
cleanly husbandry, with peaceful, happy and
charming homes scattered all along these pictur-
esque hills and valleys. Don't forget that a
subdivision of your lands into smaller holdings,
where they are suitable for viticulture or fruit,
is of prime importance and will be attended
with the most beneficial results. Twenty-acre
or forty-acre farms, planted to the vine, the
peach, the pear or the prune, would be the
crowning glory of old Sonoma. It woidd place
on her brow a richer diadem than that which
sparkles even on the front of the mining coun-
ties. It would mean thoroughness in farming,
beautiful gardens, architectural models and dis-
play, a general lauded appreciation, huiiie com-
forts and the security of our liorticuUnral au<l
viticultnral renown.
When we bear in mind the I'icli soil from the
decomposed granite and slate in the foot-hill
counties, their eligible location on the line of
eastern travel, their growing amhitioii for the
cultivation of the vine and of fruits, and their
climatic equability, it must he ackiujwledged
that they are formidnblc rivals U\ Sonoma and
may yet eclipse her.
By a judicious sul)di\i(ling of our large hold-
ings we may retain the vintage that we now
enjoy; otiierwise, sooner or later, the finest dis-
plays will be seen at the Placer, El Dorado and
Nevada fairs, or in the sunny land of Southern
('alifornia.
The farmer's life can be made more pleasant
and successful than almost any other. 1 refer
to the enterprising and enlightened farmer. He
can surround himself with all the conveniences
of life, keep abreast of the general culture of
the times, maintain his independence and
dignity, live on the best productions which his
farm will permit of, and market the remainder.
He can have his cool grottoes, his shady nooks,
his books within his cultured home. He ought
to grow happy and joyful with his opeti-air feel-
ings, soothed by wild-wood notes, and in some
little natural or artificial forest of .\rden be-
come philosophical as he meditates:
'■ And this our life, exempt from publio haimt,
Finds tongues in trees, books in the running l)roolis,
Sermons in stones, and good in everything.
I would not change it."
Ilefreshing slumbers come to him unsouo-ht,
and the morrow's sun finds him like some oiled
Olympian wrestler ready for the fray.
I want to see our young men aspiring after
these rural pleasures and building up for them-
selves homes in the country, where they can fol-
low out some lofty, bucolic ideal, instead of
lieing lured away by the city's falsetto tones and
iTiaddening strife. It is the way to enjoy a
healthful and successful manhood, an honorable
and contented old age. Cicero was never so
much delighted as in his Tiisciiluin villa, and
Horace on his Sabine farm. And the coinin<>'
generations, as long as time shall last, will be
taught to read the praises of agriculture in the
beautiful and finshed poetic numbers of Man-
tua's bard.
The Sonoma Democrat was first issued Octo-
ber 16, 1857, by A. W. Kussel. The following
year he sold the paper to E. R. Budd and L. TI.
Fisher. Mr. Fisher sold his interest to B. F.
Pinckham. Hudd and Pinckham could not
agree politically, and Mr. I'.udd purchased the
interest of Mr. Pinckham and became sole pro-
prietor. Mr. Kudd issued a very good paper,
neat in its appearance and well edited. At the
close of his volume, October 13, 185!), he
says: " For two years we have labored with a
zeal that deserves a degree of success; we have
236
RiaTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
grappled with nearly every question of im-
portance brought to our notice, and liave
decided for onrselves on their several merits.
Hitherto onr paper has been an experiment; it
is now an established fact."' In 1860 the iJem-
ocrat was purchased by T. L. Thompson, and
was much enlarged and improved. In 1866 a
Hoe cylinder press, the first in Sonoma County,
was added to the office, the paper at this time,
having very hxrgely increased in business and
in general circulation. From 18(58 to 1871 the
Democrat was run by Peabody, Ferral »S: Co.
In the latter year it was rejiurcliased Ijy Mr.
Thompson. K. .\. aiul I'". P. Thompson were
associated with him until 1877. The Sunoma
Democrat has devoted much space to the in-
dustrial development of Sonoma County. The
paper is now under the management of T. L.
Thompson. The Daily Democrat was begun
in 1875, was discontinued in 1877, and reissued
in 187'J. It is now published daily. The weekly
edition is issued every Saturday morning.
Theofiice is provided with steam-power presses,
and a job office com])lete in all its appoint-
ments.
Daihj ami Weeklij Republican. — This paper
was established as the Press by W. A. AVheeler.
In January, 1875, it was purchased by Ceo. II.
Mari', anil the name changed to the Times. Mr.
(i. 11. Marr was the publisher until his death,
which occurred in March, 1878. It was then
purchased by T. N. and J. W. llagsdale, who
commenced the publication of the Daily Times.
Mr. T. X. Kagsdale died in December, 1879,
and shortly after the paper was jnirchased by
Colonel J. 13. Armstrong. Colonel Armstrong
gave the paper its present name — the Repub-
lican. He is a writer very much above the
average of men, and had, besides, a large ex-
perience as correspondent of some of "the leading
eastern papers. Under his control the Repxib-
lican at once took rank as one of the best
country papers in this State. The editor was
especially well up in agriculture. He devoted
also much attention to local matters. Colonel
Armstrong, haviiii; other aft'airs to engage liis
attention, sold the pajjer to J. W. llagsdale, who
soon after sold a half interest to John Fitch.
Mr. Fitch and Mr. James O'Meara purchased
the remaining interest of Mr. Kagsdale, and
the paper was run for some months under their
management. In the fall of 1883 the interest
of the latter gentleman was purchased by Mr.
E. W. Davis, who, on account of failing health,
sold the establishment to Richard Cannon, who
published the paper until 1887, wlien he sold
to the present proprietor, A. B. Lemnion.
The Graml Hotel is a first-class house, situ-
ated at the corner of Main and E streets. It is
a large bi'ick building, in the center of the city,
and it accommodates a large and regular cus-
tom from all parts of the county and State.
The Occidental Hotel is situated on the cor-
ner of Fourth and B streets. It is a commodi-
ous brick building, and handsomely furnished.
G. A. Tupper is a widely known citizen of So-
noma, public spirited, attentive to his guests, and
deservedly one of the most popular landlords in
the State.
The following is a list of the principal cor-
porations doing Ijusiness in Santa liosa, other
than banks and railroads:
Santa Rosa Gas Light Company. — John A.
Paxton, deceased, President; Santa Rosa Bank,
Treasurer; A. G. Murdock, Secretary and Su-
perintendent.
Santa Rosa Athena>um Company. — B. M.
Spencer, President; Guy F. Grosse, Vice-Pres-
ident; C. A. Wright, Secretary; L. W. Burris,
Treasurer; Trustees: B. M. Spencer, S. Hutch-
inson, J. C. Mailer, I. DeTurk, (tuy E. Grosse,
AV. C. Good, C. A.Wright.
Ayricultural Park Association. — J. N. Bail-
liache. President; S. T. Allen, Vice-Pre.sident;
G. A. Tupper, Secretary; E. W. Davis, Treas-
\irer; Directors: B. M. Spencer, Jas. H. Laugh-
lin, S. I. Allen, J. N. Bailhache, I. DeTurk,
Guy E. Grosse, E. W. Davis.
Masonic Hall Association. — John S. Taylor,
President; E. Noblet, Vice-President; B. M.
Spencer, Secretary; L. W. Burris, Treasurer;
Directors, B. M. Spencer, J. S. Taylor, W. C.
BISTORT OF SONOMA OOUNTT.
237
(4ood, A. D. Laughliu, E. NoUlet, 11. \.. Trij.p,
(iiiy E. Grusse.
Stock Breeding Association. — I. DeTiirk,
President; L. W. P>nrris, Secretary; J. II. Laugli-
liii. Treasurer; Directors, 1. DeTiirk, \\. Mur-
phy, J. II. Laughlin, Geo. E. Gufrne, (Tuy E.
Grease.
F'niit and Grape Growers' Association. —
Jonathan Roberts, President; W. C. Kellogg,
Secretary; Guy E. Grosse, Treasurer.
llojy Growers' Association. — Guy E. Grosse,
President; Ferdinand lienzel, ^'ice- President,
Fulton District; J. P. Graham, Vice-Presi-
dent, Mark West Creek District; Lossen Ross,
Vice President; Green Valley District; T. P.
Miller, Vice-President, Santa Rosa Creek Dis-
trict; J. E. Hall, Vice-President, Santa Rosa
Creek District; Otis Allen, Vice-President, Se-
bastopol and Laguna District; V. ^yatson, Vice-
President, F^'eestone District; C. R. Farmer,
Treasurer; N. AVinants, Secretary.
Santa Jiosa Water Cornpanij. — Mark. L.
McDonald, President and Manager; Directors:
M. L. McDonald, T. J. Proctor, 1. G. Wicker-
sham, R. Press Davis.
Santa Rosa Street Car Company. — Operates
on Fourth sti'eet and McsDonald avenue; Mark L.
McDonald, President and Managtsr.
People's Street /iailwai/ Coinjiani/. — Presi-
dent, A. Shaw; Vice-President, S. I. Allen; Secre-
tary, J. D. Iiarnett; Treasurer, J. W. Warboys;
Directors: J. I). Parnett, A. Sliaw, S. I. .Mien,
J. W. AV'arboys, P. M. Spencer.
Santit Jiosa Woolen Mills Conipa/u/. — John
Walker, President; P. M. Walker, Secretary and
Treasurer; F. X. Longhery, Superintemlent.
Santa Jiosa J'aekimj anil Caiinimj Coin-
pany. — A branch of the Cutting Packing (Jom-
]iany, of San Francisco. J. l»lack. President;
C. A. i'erry, Secretary, Ti-easnrcr and Su|ierin-
tendent.
Methodist Episcopal Chai'rli, Sajita liosa. —
Organized about 1855; among the first, if not
the first, pastors was Rev. R. Williamson. The
deed to the property secured December 15,1858,
deeded by lloen, Ilartman and Ilahman, as a
donation from them. Property comprises four
city lots on the corner of Third and D streets.
The first church building was erected in 1861,
under the supervision of Rev. James Corwiii,
it was enlarged in 1877 by Rev. Lovejoy, in-
cluding a prayer room and a pastor's study.
Tiie auditorium has a seating capacity of 2t)-t:
persons. The following are the pastors who
have ministered to the church: Rev. R. W.
Williamson, John Walker, James Corwin,
Noah IJurton, Wm. Hulbert, A. L. S. P.ate-
inan, George Clifford, Wm. Anguin, George
Walter. G. D. Pineo, Lovejoy, C. E. Rich,
E. I. Jones, George Adams. T. H. Woodward,
Geo. Clifford. The present parsonage was
erected in 1884 under the supervision of Rev.
T. II. Woodward. The present membership is
about 150. The Sunday school has 100 scholars
enrolled and the regular attendance is about 118.
The Christian Church., Santa Rosa. — To El-
der Thomas Thompson is the honor due of or-
ganizing this congregation in November, 1854,
and preaching the first sermon to them in that
month. The original members of the church
were: T. P.. Hood and wife, Mrs. C. E. Hood,
Joel Miller, Sarah Miller (now Mrs. Shane),
Elizabeth Miller, Harrison Valentine, W. R.
O'llowell, J. M. Case, Samuel Hand and wife.
Mrs. Coleman Talbot, and R. Fulkerson and
wife. Services were then held in the town of
FVanklin, in the Paptist church, and continued
there until the town was moved to Santa Rosa,
when the congregation met in the court-house,
but after the removal of the church building
from Franklin to Santa Rosa in 1S5(), then in
that edifice, where they prosecuted their devo-
tions until the erection in 1857 of their own
place of worship on the corner of F'ourth and B
streets, which, in 187J, was transferred to its
present position on Fifth street. The entire
cost of the church, inclusive of lot, bell, fixtures,
etc., was about $3,000, while its size is 38 .\ GO
feet.
J'resbyterian. Charch.~(h\ J\Iarch 17, 1850,
Mr. Woods organized the Presbyterian ("hurch,
consisting of twelve members: Cyrus Alexan-
iirsTonr of sonoma countt.
(ler. A. P. Wilson, John Barbour, Joliii Tread-
way, Mrs. Henrietta Treadsvay, Mrs. E. A.
Woods, Mrs. JaneOrrnsbj, Mrs. Ilattie Hendly,
Mrs. Jane Drum. ilrs. Elizabetli Bledsoe,
]V[rs. Ivate Green, and Mrs. Louisa McDonald.
CjM-us Alexander and John Treadwa}- were
elected ruling elders. Mr. Alexander was or-
dained and installed, and Mr. Treadway, having
been previously ordained, was duly installed.
Bcqjtist Church. — Early in the year 1873
the tru.-;tees of the Baptist CMiureh of Santa Rosa
pnrcliased a lot on tiio corner of I! and Cen-
ter streets on which, in the month of Febrnar\\
they commenced the erection of a building, Gotii-
ic in style of architecture, and of the following
dimensions: The main church building, 5(ix.37
feet, with an elevatiim of thirty-two feet. Ad-
ioining the main building, in the rear, is a
chapel 30x40 feet, containing, besides accom-
modation for the Sunday-school, the library and
committee rooms. Over the front entrance to
the church is a large G(^thic window. From
the base to elevation of tower and spire, located
at the left front corner of the edifice, is sixty-
nine feet. The building cost about $5,000.
Tlie first house of worship was built in 1854 at
Franklin, a mile and a half from Santa llosa,
but, in 1855, it was removed with the rest of
tiiat short-lived village to this town and placed
upon the lot on Third street where it now stands,
being used as a tenement lH)Use. It was the
third Protestant churcli erected in the county,
James Crane being tiie contractor. Tlie cost of
the building was defrayed by public subscription,
with the provisions that it should be free to all
denominations when not in use by the Baptists.
Klder J. McCorkle hold tlie first services in the
Imilding.
Kpm'oi>al Church. — On the 14th of Octol)er,
1872. the preliminary steps were taken to
organi/.c a parish at Santa Rosa under the
Episcopal Church, by electing the following
gentlemen as officers: Dr. R. !'. Smith, Senior
Warden; W. H. Bond, Junior Warden; E. W.
Maslin, G. W.. Jones, F. G. Nagle, L. A.
Martin and F. P. Thompson, Vestrymen. The
Rev. G. C. Lane, who bad been officiating, noti-
fied the bishop of the election of church officers,
and re(piested his consent to the organizatitm,
which was granted by Bishop Kip on the ISth of
December, and tlie vestry formed by electing F.
G. Nagle, Secretary, and L. A. Martin, Treas-
urer, the parish, on the motion of Dr. Smith,
receiving the name of " The Parish of the In-
carnation," and Rev. G. C. Lane appointed Rec-
tor for the ensuing year.
Santa Rosa Water CoinjMiiy. — Articles of
incorporation of the Santa Rosa Water Company
were filed on February 27, 1873, the capital
stock being $100,000 divided into 1,000 shares
of 8100 each, the Directors being E. T. Farmer,
C. F. Juillard, F. G. Ilahman, Jackson Temple
and James P. Clark; term of existence fifty
years. In reference to this undertaking the
water is taken from the junction of the Alamo
and Santa Rosa creeks and conveyed on the
south side of the latter to the reservoir, one mile
below, on the lauds of the Gibb's estate. The
fall, from where the water is taken at the creeks,
to the reservoir is thirty-five feet; the supply
pipe to the reservoir is eleven-inch, and the
mains, from the reservoir to the town, are nine-
inch for a portion of the way and seven-inch for
the remainder. The reservoir has a cajiacity of
not less than 30,000.000 gallons.
Santa Rosa Gaslight Cvuipany. — The Max ■
im Gas Company was incorporated April, 1872,
the citizens of Santa Rosa taking one half the
stock, and the Maxim Gas Company of San
Francisco holding the balance. The whole stock
was subsequently purchased by the citizens and
the Maxim Works run by them until the spring
of 1876, when they were disposed of to Santa
Rosa Gaslight Company, which had been incor-
porated March i), 187t), under the supervision
of L. A. Kelly. The new company, at an ex-
pense of s30,000. erected their works on First
street, just below Main, which consist of a large
brick retort-house, with iron roof, brick purifying
house in the rear, office and workshop, with
large holder, 20,000 cubic feet capacity, with
brick cistern.
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
239
Santa Rosa Commandery of Knights Tem-
plar. — This order was organized under dispen-
sation March 11, 1878, the charter being granted
April 11, 1879. The charter members being
Sir Leonard Harrison Buckland, Sir Thomas
Piiipps I'axter, Sir Samuel Hard, Sir Arthur
Lockard Co.x, Sir Miln Suiitli Davis, Sir (iuy
Emanuel (irrosse. Sir (ieorge Ashbury Jolinson,
Sir John Mcllmoil, Sir James Clark ^[ailer. Sir
Byron M. Spencer. The original othccrs were:
Sir George Ashbury Johnson, Eminent Com-
mander; Sir Byron M. Spencer, Generalissimo;
Sir Leonard Harrison J>nckland, Captain-Gen-
eral; Sir Thomas Phipps Baxter, Pi-elate; Sir
(luy Emanuel Grosse, Senior AVarden; Sir
James Clark Mailer, .Junior AVarden; Sir Sam-
uel Bard, Treasurer; Sir .Vrthur Lockard Cox,
Recorder; Sir Milo Smith Davis, AVarden; Sir
John McHmoil, SentineL
Santa Rosa Encantpment, No. J-A 1 .(>. (J. V.
— This order was instituted in Santa Rosa on
December 14, 1875, the charter members be-
ing: J. J. McClelland, A. G. Shannon, A. P.
Petit, George T. Gregg, C. D. Frazie, AV. II.
Morris, AVilliam Strom; the original officers
being: C. D. Frazie, C. P.; A. (4. Shannon, H.
P.; J. J. McClelland, S. AV.; William, Strong;
AVilliam R. Morris, Treasurer; A. P. Petit, J.
AV.; S. T. Coulter, Guide.
Santa Rosa Lodge, No. ■'>■!. 1. (>. <>. F.
Tliis lodge was instituted February ^S, 1856,
the following being the charter members: John
llendley, Jacob M. Gallagher, Adam Shane, AV.
R. Smith, James A. Reynolds, Horace B. Alar-
tiu, Julio Carrillo and AV. M. Menefee. The
order held their meetings in Good Templars'
Hall, No. 222 Third street, until the comple-
tion of their own building, at a cost of !f^l8,()0(),
on the corner of Third street and Exchange ave-
nue. The first officers were: John Hendley,
N. G.; AV. R. Smith, V. G.; Adam Shane, Re-
cording Secretary; N.McC. Menefee, Treasurer.
I'urltii Lodge, No. ,iJ, /. (). G. T.— AVas
first organized May 14, 1861, in Temperance
Hall, 222 Third street, there l)eing seventeen
charter members. The following were elected
offiers: AVilliam Churchman, AV. C. T.; Maud
Latimer, AV. V. T.; Frank AV. Brown, AV. S.;
T. J. Smith, AV. F. S.; Caroline E. Hood, AV.
T.; AV. AV. Morrow, AV. M.; J. W. Town, AV.
L G.; C. G. Ames, AV. O. G.
Santa Rosa Lodge, No. 370, L <). (J. T.— The
charter members being: Harry Rich,D. S. Lacey,
Harry T. Case, C.T.Barnes, T. H. Barnes, Ben-
jamin Farmer, James AForrow, Jr., S. Cliilders,J.
D. Stockton, Rebecca Stockton, P. B. Owen, Mrs.
L. R. Latimer, Miss A. Small, James Roberts,
AV. Churchman, J. M. White, O. D. Metcalf,
Miss S. M. Baxter, J. T. Littaker, Mrs. Dora
Metzler, AV. H. Alead, AValter Ferrall, Mrs. E.
Hodgson, \^. Fortson; the officers a})pointed
were: D. S. Lacey, AV. C. T.; AH-s. S. R. Lati-
mer, AV. V. T.; Rev. G. D. Pinneo, AV. C;
Walter Ferrall, W. S. ; Miss Fannie Farmer,
AV. A. S.; O. D. Aletcalf, AV. F. S.; Miss T.
AL Baxter, AV. T.; James Morrow, Jr., AV. AI.;
Miss Abbie Small, AV. D. M.; Rebecca Stock-
ton, AV. I. G.; James Roberts, AV. O. G.; Airs.
Dora Aletzler, AV. R. H. S.; Aliss Lizzie Fort-
son, AV. L. H. S.; L D. Stockton, P. W. C. T.
Par'ifia Methodist College. — The first regu-
lar session of the college was opened in July,
1861, with Professor C. S. Smyth, department
of mathematics; Professor S. B. Morse, depart-
ment of languages, and Aliss A. E. Caldwell in
charge of the primary department. The first
day showed an attendance of only thirteen
students; within four months the number had
increased to forty-six. Three weeks before the
close of the session Rev. AV. T. Lucky, who had
been elected president, arrived and took charge
of the institution. The first annual catalogue,
published in May, 1862, contained the names of
over eighty students. There was a period of
uninterrupted prosperity from 1862 to April,
1865, when the main college building was de-
stroyed by fire — the work of an incendiary.
Provision w'as made for the accommodation of
classes, and the exercises of the institution went
on without the loss of a single" recitation. Af-
ter a 3'ear and a half of zealous effort on the
part of the agent, Rev. AV. M. AVinters, another
340
UIHTOUY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
building was erected, at a cost of §16,000. In
December, 1860, Dr. Lucky tendered bis resig-
nation, to take etlect in May, 1867. At tlie
annual meeting of tlie board of trustees, iti Mny,
Dr. .1. R. Tbomas, of Emory College, Georgia,
was elected president. The institution contin-
ued its session in Vacaviile until May, 1870,
when, by vote of the trustees, it was removed
to Santa Hosa. The citizens of Santa Kosa
donated ten acres of land and erected thereon a
college l)uilding, at a cost of !?25,O00. The
present value of the building and grounds is
estimated at S30,000. The college grounds are
situated in the northeastern part of the city.
The building is commodious, aftbrding accom-
modations for 300 students. There are two
literary societies connected with the college.
The libraries of the two societies contain about
800 volumes. The tirst regular session in Santa
Rosa was opened in August, 1871, with A. h.
Fitzgerald, A. M., president and professor of
mental and moral science; C. S. Smyth, pro-
fessor of mathematics; Charles King, professor
t)f languages. In July, 1876, President A. L.
Fitzgerald tendered his resignation, to take
effect in October, when Rev. W. .\. Finley was
elected to take charge of the institution. I'lie
prospects of the college are now encouraging.
At no time in its history have its friends been
more determined to sustain it with their means
and influence. The graduates niimlier 101. The
larger portion of tiie interest-bearing debt has
been paid. Tiiree gold medals are given annu-
ally, one for best declamation, one for the best
select reading, and one for excellence in scholar-
ship and deportment. The medal for scliolar-
ship and deportment has been endowed by T.J.
Brooke, and is known as the Brooke medal; that
for select reading by T. II. 1!. .Vnderson, and is
known as the Anderson medal: the one for best
declamation by Senator Cx. A. Johnson, and is
known as the Johnson medal. The situation of
the college is all that could bu desireil. At no
place in California are students under better
influence than in Santa Rosa. The course of
instruction consists of Greek, Latin, Cierman,
French, Spanish, and a course of English mathe-
matics, philosophy and the natural pliysical
sciences. Colonel J. M.Austin, A. M., is presi-
dent, with the following corps of professors and
teachers: Rev. S. M. (iodby, A. M., Ferdinand
Kenyon, Rev. George B. Winton, A. M., E.
Lerch and Miss Callie Brook. This institu-
tion is deservedly popular. The college building
is a fine structure.
The Ursuliiie Academy is beautifully located
on B street, surrounded by large and commodi-
ous grounds, beautifully ornamented with trees,
shrubs and flowers. The building is a fine ar-
chitectural structure in a six-acre plot of ground
in the center of the city. Sister Alphonse Cas-
tillo is superioress, assisted by seven other
sister. Latin, French, Spanish, and vocal and
instrumental music are taught in this academy.
There are quite a number of boarders. Xear
the academy and adjoining St. Rose Church, is
a large free day-school in charge of Sisters
Angela Gallagher and Crsuline Maxwell.
o CD
The Santa Rosa Ladies Sem'marij is owned
and presided over the Misses Chase, two excel-
lent educationists, who give a thorough course
of instruction and have made this a popular
institution of learning. The ^[isses Cliase have
two assistants.
The Santa Ju/Sfi Yvunij Ladies' Collcije is
an excellent institution of learning of a very
high order, with Rev. W. A. Finley, A. M., D. D.,
president, assisted by an able corps of professors
and teachers. This college stands deservedly
high.
I'lre JJejxiftyneitt. The Santa Rosa tire de-
partment is one of the most notable and the
most deserving institution in this city. It never
balks or sulks, liut answers every call upon it,
whether tu save life or property, regardless of
any risks to its meml)ers. Tiie Santa Rosa en-
gine company was organized in 1860. T. L.
Thompson was the first foreman, C. Kessing first
assistant, M. Wise second assistant, J. Doycliet
secretary, and Joe Richardson treasurer. The
present officers of Engine Company ^o. 1 are:
i E. P. Colgan, president ; Henry Baker, fore-
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
man ; L. Keser, Jr., tirst assistant ; J. F. Fick,
second assistant ; M. J. Steining, secretary, and
J. n. Kicliardson, treasurer. The Santa Rosa
liook and ladder company was organize(l in 1871:.
A. Korhel was tirst foreman and J. lioyal was
lirst assistant.
City Hall. — In 1883 a very neat building
for a City Hall was erected. Tlie lower part is
used for the engine of Santa Kosa Engine Com-
pany No. 1, and the upstairs for a council cham-
ber and library rooms. The building is located
on the east side of the plaza, and is i]uite an or-
nament to that heretofore neglected part of the
town. It was built by T. J. Ludwig, at a cost
of $-1,500. It was a graceful and proper thing
to do, to house in comfortable and roomy quar-
ters tlie engine, and to give the brave fellows
who guard the property of the people a respect-
able room. It was Justly due them, and no one
should for a moment complain of the outlay.
If there is anything to complain of, it is that
the building is not so good as the company
deserve.
One of the most important, if not the most
important enterprise in Santa Rosa, is I. IJe
Turk's winery. The buildings occupy an entire
block between Railroad and Adams streets. Mr.
Isaac L)e Turk is, we believe, a native of Penn-
sylvania and commenced planting vines in 181)3
and laid out a vineyard of twent}- acres near
Santa Rosa, lie increased this vineyard, and
added a wine cellar. Later, to take advantage
of the great (juantity of grapes coming in from
small vineyards in the vicinity, he established a
branch winery in Santa Rosa. The Santa Rosa
winery soon exceeded the home place in extent
of business. A few years ago, the buihling be-
ing wood, was partially destroyed by fire, and
water being scarce, the contents of the vats were
useil to extinguish the flames. Mr. Do Turk
immediately rebuilt with Itrick. This building
is the lower one in the roar of the main and
larger cellar, and is 100 feet by 6ti feet, two
stories. This building is also of brick, and like
the first one two stories high, but lias more
elevation. The two buildings with tlie yard,
offices and distillery occupy the entire block,
and tiie capacity of the establishment is 1,000,-
000 gallons, and the estimated stock of wine on
hand at the beginning of this year was said to
be 700,000 gallons. The cooper's shop, which
is necessarily a large establishment, is on the
block opposite to the winery. The winery is
.said to be the largest in California, that of Sena-
tor Stanford, at Vina, excepted. The crushing
room is furnished with two crushers and stem-
mers each having a capacity of six tons an hour,
fed by tramway trucks running up from the
scales. The distillery is in a detached building
and is fitted with two stills, one for pummace
and one for wine. Mr. De Turk has been for
years recognized as one of our leading viticul-
turists. For two terms he has held the honor-
able position of State Viticultural Commissioner
for his district, and has always been respected
as one of the most experienced and practical
members of that body. The wines of Mr. De
Turk are well known all o\'er the United States,
and it is no uncommon thing to see a train load
of cars leave his warehouse loaded with wine for
Chicago, St. Louis or New York. Mr. DeTurk
has gained a reputation for the purity of his
wines, and has always been an uncompromising
ojiponent of advocates of stretching, flavciring,
cohjring and other schemes of that demon of the
wine cellar, the so-called " chemist." Mr. De
Turk's great specialty is his clarets, but it is
hard to decide whether his choicest product is
his claret, or his Riesling or his brandy. Mr.
De Turk makes sweet wines, both red and white,
and sherries. Santa Rosa may well be proud
of its enterprising citizen, Isaac De Turk.
'Tlie Santa Rosa Holler Floui'liuj MUIh has
a capacity of 200 barrels of Hour a day, besides
grinding meals, feed, etc., anil would be a credit
to any city of five times its population. This
mill affords a home market for much of the
grain raised on Santa Rosa's fertile plains.
TIte Santa Rosa Woolen 2Iilh is an enter-
prise of primary importance to this ])lace, as it
opens up a home market for the iminense wool
product of Sonoma County. The looms are of
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNT T.
the latest design and the inacliinery of the
most improved kind. It employs foi'ty hands,
and has a capacity of using 1,400 pounds of
wool a day. The fabrics it turns out are first-
class.
T/ie Santa Horn Tannery is the largest in
Sonoma County; its yearly product is $50,000.
This industry is of great importance liere, as
Sonoma is a great stock-raising county.
The Santa Rosa Planing Mill is an im-
mense establisliment, and of great importance,
as it is so near the great lumber regions of So-
noma County and as there is a large demand for
the tanks, casks, etc., which it manufactures
for wine and water pur])Oses, liesides the im-
mense amount of building material it tarns
out.
The Gas Works ha\e a capacity of 20,000
cubic feet a day. They use a Cummer engine,
of 150 horse power. In the electric light de-
partment are four dynamos with a combined
capacity of ninety-seven lights. They are run-
ning eighty-five lights now. They use the
Thompson ct Houston system. They intend soon
put in an incandescent dynamo to run sevei'al
hundred lights at a much less e.xjtense to the
consumer. The late John A. Pa.xton Mas pre-
sident of this corporation at the time of his
death. A. G. Murdock, secretary and super-
intendent, and the Santa llosa Bank, Treasurer.
SANTA KOSA OFFICERS.
li. W. Byington, Mayor; II. II. Churchill,
Clerk; ^\\ F. Russell, Attorney; W. X. Seawell,
Recorder; Jacolj J. Lowery. Marshal; E. F.
Woodward, Treasurer; R. McGeorge, Assessor;
W. J. Steadman, Street Commissioner. City
Council: J. W. Warboys, Orin Howell, W. J.
Doggett J. F. Smith, L. W. Burris, Win. Doran.
Council meets in regular session, in city hall,
first Tuesday of each month.
Police Force — Night Patrol: I. B. Charles,
E. Gardner, W. S. Mead, S. R. Yoho.
Public Library: C. E. Ilutton, Rresident;
R. M. Swain, Seci'etary. Mrs. Binkley, Lib-
rarian. Open every day (except on Sundays),
from 1 to 5 and 7 to 9 o'clock r. m.
Board of Health: Dr. R. Press Smith, Pre-
sident; J. J. Lowery, Health Ofiicer.
Fire Depirtment: J. A. Doubleday, Chief
Engineer; W. II. Lee, First Assistant Engineer;
J. K. Piggott, Second Assistant Engineer; W.
J. Steadman, Fire Marshal.
Board i>f Education: J. U. Barnett, Presi-
dent; George Hall, Secretary; L. E. lloud. As-
sessor and Collector.
Santa liosa Board of Trad,': A. P. Overlon,
President; B.M. Spencer, First Vice-President;
S. I. Allen, Second Vice-President; J. W.
Warboys, Secretary; W. E. McConnell, Treas-
urer.
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
t-^-
CHAPTER XXVIII.
ToWX-ilHP HISTOKV — ^nKIiaX OF NAME ClIKOXOLOdlCAL Bl'SIXESS INTERESTS CHURCITES THE PRESS.
f[L8EWlIERE mention has been made of
tlie earliest residents and fonnders of Peta-
. luma. Also an epitome of the record fur-
nished by the Sonoma County Journal from
August, 1855, to August, 1866, gives the prog-
ress made up to that date, and the names of
most of those identified with the founding of
Petaluma. We now give a resume of the most
important events historic of both Petaluma
Township and the city of Petaluma.
The origin or meaning of the word " Petalu-
ma" is yet a mooted question, but it is agreed
that it is an Indian word, signifying either
'•duck hills," or '-little hills." Petaluma is
situated at the head of navigation on the Peta-
luma Creek, a tide-stream that is an arm of San
Pablo Bay. The first authentic history extant
of the navigation of tliis creek is, that it was
ascended in 1776, by Captain Quiros and a
party of explorers, with the expectation of find-
ing in it a connecting channel between the bays
of San Francisco and Podcga. The next authen-
tic record of a vi.iit to this valley is that of
Father Altimira, in 1823, in search of aplace to
found a mission. In 1836 General M. G. Val-
lejo built the first house in Petaluma A'alley.
The building, a large adobe structure, now fast
crumbling to ruins, stands in fair view three
miles eastward of Petaluma. While as early as
1850 there svei'e but a few Americans in the
neighborhood of the present site of Petaluma,
16
mostly engaged killing game that abounded
here in great profusion, yet the first permanent
locations were made here for business and trade
in 1851. Some time in the latter part of
1851, or the early part of 1852, the first move
was in the direction of platting a town and of-
fering lots for sale. The location was happily
chosen, for the head of navigation on the Pet-
aluma Creek was to the vast scope of rich agri-
cultural and grazing lands lying l)ack of it what
the Bay of San F'rancisco was to the balance of
the State. As population poured into the sur-
rounding country it accelerated the growth and
business of Petaluma. This growth has been
of a steady, healthy clniracter, and now when
having reached a population of over 5,000, it
can be truthfully said that Petaluma is \\\ as
prosperous and thrifty a condition as any other
city of its size on the Pacific coast. Its growth
has not been spasmodic and forced, but healthy
and permanent. For an interior city of a little
over thirty years' growth, the people have rea-
son to be proud of Petaluma, and feel that her
future growth and development will not be a
discredit to her jjast history.
Turning to the journals of the day we cull
the following, which we give in tlie chronologi-
cal order in which we find them recorded:
November 7, 1856 — Rev. A. A. Baker, pastor
of tlie Congregational Church, makes a plea in
behalf of improving the Petaluma cemetery.
344
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
December 5, 1856 — Mr. J. Dickinson, broth-
er of the afterward famous Miss Anna Dickin-
son, was teaching a private school in Petaluraa.
November 20, 1857— The Petaluma Hook
and Ladder Company was organized.
July 17,1857 — The Congregational Church,
Petaluma, M-as dedicated —Rev. J. A. Benton,
of Sacramento, delivering the discourse.
August 13, 1857 — At the close of term of
the Petaluma public school, Mr. James Den-
man, principal, delivered an able address.
May 14,1857 — A draw-bridge was completed
at the crossing of the Petaluma Creek, on
Washington street.
January 15, 1858 — The first flour-mill of
Petaluma commenced operations.
On the 12t]i of April, 1858, the California
Legislature enacted a city charter for Petaluma.
On April 23rd, 1858, the first city election
was held and the following otticers elected:
Trustees: W. L. Anderson. "Wm. Elder,
Sam'l. Tustin, E. IJ. Cooper, AVm. Ordway;
Recorder, William Haydon ; Treasurer, L. Lam-
berton; Marshal, J. H. Siddons; Assessor,
Moses Arms.
Ordinance No. 1, formulated by this Board of
Trustees, was promulgated on the 21st of May.
Of these, the first officers of the city of Peta-
luma, W. L. Anderson and E. B. Cooper are
the only ones now living.
June 25, 1858 — McCune"s Hlock, and several
otlier substantial buildings completcil in Peta-
luma.
July 4, 1858 — This was a memorable natal
day in Petaluma. The eloquent orator. Colonel
E. D. Baker, delivered the oration. There were
banner presentations by the ladies of Petaluma
to the Fire Engine and Ilook and Ladder com-
panies, and also a banner presentation to the
Congregational Sabbath-school.
September 24, 1858 — The Congregational
Church procured a 600 pound bell.
(October 8, 1858— The Baptist Church pur-
chased a bell weighing 1,000 pounds. It is the
bell used by tiie San Francisco A'igilance Com-
mittee in 1856.
June 17, 1859 — The steamer Rambler, built
to run between Petaluma and San Francisco,
was completed.
July 1, 1859 — Colonel E. D. Baker and Be-
laud Stanford addressed a Republican meeting at
Petaluma.
August 12, 1S59 — The corner-stone of the
Petaluma brick school building was laid with
appropriate ceremonies.
September 2, 1859 — The ladies of Petaluma
2)resentetl a banner to the Petaluma Guards.
September 23, 1859 — The celebrated traveler.
Bayard Taylor, lectured in Petaluma.
October 14, 1859 — Announcement was made
that a new Journal, the Petaluma Argu'<, was to
be published, J. J. Pennypacker, proprietor.
December 9, 1859-^Dr. T. A. Ilylton, a pio-
neer physician of Petaluma, died suddenly while
crossing the mountains to Nevada Territory.
February 10, 1860 — St. John's Episcopal
Church, Petaluma, was consecrated.
Novemljer 30, 1860 — The schooner Elsie J.
Cline, twenty-two tons burthen, liuilt at Peta-
luma, was safely launched.
December 21, 1861 — A savings and loan
society was organized.
April 20, 1861 — A tannery was started in
Petaluma by C. II. Bailey.
February 4, 1862 — Dr. S. W. Brown, one of
Petaluma's most respected and esteemed citizens,
and a sterling patron of education, died very
suddenly.
April 9, 1862 — The Legislature amended the
city charter of Petaluma.
September 17, 1862 — The Ortega claim to
the Arroyo de San Antonio grant finally rejected.
April 15, 1863 — J. C. Bradbury was found
dead in his room. lie was a brother of W. B.
Bradljury. the noted composer of music. Mr.
Bradl)ury was an architect, and built the Congre-
gational Church in Petaluma and the Two
Rock Church. He had many friends, and was
his own worst enemy. He sleeps in an unmarked
grave in the old cemetery.
June 3, 1863 — The Petaluma Guards pre-
sented a sword to Captain P. B. Hewlett.
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
245
July 4r, 1863— Hon. Newton Booth delivered
the oration at Petahuna.
December 23, 1863 — Arteiniis Ward (Charles
Brown), the celebrated wit, lectured in Petaluina.
December 23, 1863 — Fetaliima for the lirst
tinje was lighted with gas.
May 26, 1864— McN ear BrotliL^rs built a brick
warehouse 150 feet square.
July 21,1864: — Rev. Doctor Uellows acknowl-
edges the receipt of $2,000 from the ladies of
Petaluma in aid of the Sanitary Commission, for
tlie relief of Union soldiei's during the civil war.
September 8, 1864 — The steamboat Ware-
house, owned by Colonel Joshua H. Lewis, was
burned, together with a large amount of freiglit.
April 20, 1865 — Petaluma was draped in
mourning on account of the assassination of
Lincoln. There was a funeral procession, and
I'rofessor E. S. Lijjpett delivered an elorpient
oration.
It may not be inappropriate here to quote the
following tribute from the Petaluma Argus of
April 20, 1865:
"Fullness of speech may not be indulged,
while a sable-clad nation weeps at the tomb of
its mighty fallen. Pearly drops from humid
eyes speak a language that tongue cannot utter,
nor pen indite; the language of the heart as it
has been since the stars sang together on the
morn'of creation. As Mary knelt weeping by
the sepnlclire of the world's Pedeemei', eigh-
teen hundred years ago, even so now a nation
mourns at the tomb of its saviour. The harsh
notes of trumpet-tongued courier did not blazon
his fall, but from where the boisterous Atlantic
hurls its crested waves against Plymouth liock
to where the placid Pacific laves our golden
shores, the swift-winged messenger, with the
rapidity of thought, and the low cadence of sum-
mer winds, told the story of tlie assassin's deed;
and scarce had the vaulted arch of Heaven been
cleft to receive his noble spirit up on high, liefore
around a million hearts sat unmanned manhood
weeping, as it is seemly that women alone might
weep. Never since the earth reeled as if rocked
by a mighty tempest, and the vail of the temple
was rent in twain, has mankind, universal, bled
in the representative of principle so pure, so
lofty, and so God-like in their adaptability to all
the wants and requirements of humanity', the
world over, as in the person of Auk ah am Lincoln.
Not like the meteor's fitful gleam athwart the
sky, fading into the dark chaos of night, has been
his going out; but as the bright orb of day
sinking to rest behind the western hills leaves
its last golden rays illumining the mountain
gorge, and beetling clitf, so too will the light of
his pui"e self-sacrificing devotion to justice and
freedom, irradiate the dark corners of the
earth, and the history of his life, and the story
of his death, will be assigned a place in the
world's archives; will be read by the glare of
lamps, trimmed by servile hands, and do the
bidding of those who claim to rule by right
Divine; will be studied by peasants on sunny
plains and Alpine hills; and yet farther on,
where day and night comes and goes but ouce a
year, the fur-clad Laplander, by the amber
light of the Aurora Borealis will read the story
and pray that the assassin who struck him down,
may be exiled to some frigid clime, where even
the rays of a polar sun may be denied him. A
chieftain has fallen ; his grave is in the hearts
of his countrymen; let those pay heed whose
foul tongues, in unbridled license, have aspersed
his name! The assassin has done your work!
Leave us alone with our dead!" Thus had the
mighty fallen!
" Hush, tlie Dead March wails iu the people's ears ;
The dark crowd moves, aud there are sobs and tears;
The black earth yawns ; the mortal disappears,
Ashes to ashes, dust to dust;
He is gone who seemed so great —
Gone; but nothing can bereave him
Of the force he made his own
Being here, aud we believe him
Something far advanced in stale.
And that he wears a truer crown
Than any wreath that man can weave him.
Speak no more of his renown,
Lay your earthly fancies down.
And iu the vast cathedral leave him.
God accept him, Christ receive him.''
June 15, 1865 — The cornerstone of the new
246
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
Methodist Episcopal Church was laid, liev. M.
C. Briggi^ officiating.
Deeeiiiljcr 7, 18(55 — A'ice- President Sclniyler
Colfax visited relatives in Petahuiia, and was
waited upon l)y a large delegation of her people,
to whom he delivered an eloquent address.
June 28, 1866 — A fire occurred in I'etaluina
destroying several buildings, among tlicm tlic
Franlilin and Sullivan hotels.
August 30, 1860— The boiler of the locomo-
tive that was used for the carrying of passen-
gers and freight between Petaluma and the
" Haystack Landing," exploded at the l^eta-
luma warehouse, killitig the engineer; Dodge,
the warehouse keeper; J. II. Lewis, the owner
of the building, and a boy- named Thompson.
Several otliers were injured.
December 20, 18(i6 — Tiburico A'asquez, the
afterward notorious banditti, was arrested by
city marshal, James H. Knowles, for burglar-
izing a store. County Judge C. W. Langdon,
sentenced him to four years at San Quinten.
lie served his time out, aud developed into a
full-Hedged robber. He paid the penalty of his
crimes on the gallows at San Jose about 1875.
January 3, 1867 — A public library was or-
ganized under the auspices of the Odd Fellows
society. It was finally merged into a city
library, aud now has several thousand volumes.
January 10, 1867 — AVm. Ordway, one of
I'etaluma's most widely known and successful
mechanics, passed away.
April 4, 1867 — The convent, school ij^ the
Catholic Church was duly inaugurated, and for
many years was a prominent educational institu-
tion under thedirection of the Sistei-s of Charity.
June 13, 1867 — The ladies of the Congrega-
tional Church presented the Petaluma Guards,
Captain James Armstrong con:mandiiig, an
elegant banner.
August 1, 1867 — A planing mill and sash
factory was put in succesful operation in East
Petaluma.
September 12, 1867 — Petaluma lost one of
her oldest and most enterprising citizens, by
the deatli of Captain T. F. Baylis.
September 26, 1867 — The city of Petaluma
added a new engine tu its fire-department.
September 26, 1867 — Professor E. S. Lippitt
started a high school in Petaluma.
October 10, 1867 — Solomon Pearce, a higidy
respected citizen, met witli a railroad accident
in Napa Valley, which resulted in his death.
March 12, 1868 — A soap factoi-y was estali-
lished in Petaluma.
June 25, 1868 — E. Z. C. Judson (Xed Bunt-
line) delivered a temperance lecture in I'etaluma.
July 16, 1868 — Petaluma was scourged with
the small pox. There were ten or fifteen deaths.
July 23, 1868 — Petaluma had a pottery in
successful operation.
October 1, 1868 — Petaluma was visited with
a disastrous fire. The American hotel and sev-
eral other valuable buildings were destroyed.
October 8, 1868 — Uriah Edwards fell a victim
to the small-pox. He was an old and lionored
citizen, having served the county in the State
Legislature.
October 22, 1868 -The Mutual Relief Associ-
ation of Petaluma was organized.
September 9, 1869 — Mr. and Mrs. TomThumli
visited Petaluma.
March 15, 1870 — A company was organized
to build a theater. A fine edifice was erected
and opened to the public on the 10th of October.
April 9, 1870 — Petaluma lost a good and
valuable citizen by the death of Dr. "Wm. 15ur-
nett. He was a State Senator at the time of
his demise.
January 21, 1S71 — Louis Parnes (colored)
died at a ri]>e old age. He had been a slave the
most of his life. He was esteemed by all who
knew him.
July 22, 1871 — The corner stone of Odd
Fellows Block was laid, with appropriate cere-
monies.
Xovember 11, 1871--Captain J. S. Cutter,
one of the firm of Baylis cV: Co., passed away.
He had been a good and useful citizen.
March 23, 1872--Petalnina was visited by a
destructive fire whicrh swept away ^75. 000 worth
of property.
niSTORY 0^ SOIfOJtA COVlfTf.
247
April 20, 1872 — The water t-uinpanies uf
Petalnma were consolidated, and action was
taken to secure a larger supply of water.
^[ay 18, 1872 — This was a season of great im-
provement in Petaluma. The estimated cost of
the buildings erected was ift225,0O0.
June 22, 1872 — S. Levy, one of I'etaluma's
larii;est dry goods merchants, died.
July 0, 1872 — A joint-stock manufacturing
company was formed iti Petaluma. A full out-
fit was purchased and a woolen mill was set in
operation.
September 13, 1872 — (Jencral Joseph Hook-
er visited Petaluma, where he spent several
days, the guest I. G. Wickersham, and family.
October 25, 1872 — The new Washington
Hotel was completed and oi^ened to the public.
January 10, 1873 — The Miranda claim to
the Arroyo de San Antonio grant, on which
Petaluma stands, was finally confirmed by the
United States Supreme Court.
April 25,1873 — Simon ("onrad, oneof Pet-
aluma's most energetic mechanics, who carried
on a large blacksmithing establishment, died.
June 27, 1873 — Petaluma was visited by a
destructive fire, and the American Hotel ai.d
adjacent buildings were again reiluced to ashes.
July 4, 1873 — Petaluma was again called
upon to part with one of its respected and pioneer
citizens, Dr. J. L. Bond.
July 25, 1873 — The last member of the old
firm of T. F. Paylis & Co., Captain 1). SnlHvan,
paid the last debt of nature.
January 2, 1874 — Petaluma was again visited
with a destructive fire.
January 23, 1874 — E. C. Thomas, a promi-
nent citizen of Petaluma, and a son of liev. E.
Thomas who was killed in the (ieneral ('anby
massacre by tlie Modnc Indians,. died in Peta-
luma.
March 13, 1874 — Uev. John L. Stephens,
who had grown up in Petaluma, was most foully
murdered in Ahulco, ^Mexico, where* he had
gone as a Protestant missionary. His remains
were brought back and now repose in (^ypress
Hill Cemetery.
May 1, 1874 — Charles Cobb died, why was
long a machinist in the foundry of C. P. Hatch,
Petaluma.
May 22, 1874.^John J. Ellis, formerly a
citizen of Petaluma, and once sheriff of Sonoma
County, was frozen to ileath in Nevada Territory.
September 25, 1874— The First National Gold
Pank of California was organized at Petaluma,
with I. G. Wickerham as president, and H. H.
Atwater as cashier.
January 1, 1875— J. P. Lookie, one of i'eta-
luma's valued citizens, passed away.
January 1, 1875 — Tiie new Methodist Epis-
copal Church was formally dedicated.
January 15, 1875 — Petaluma lost an old-time
and valued citizen in the person of Deacon Jacob
Gilbert.
July (), 1875 — 1'he coriier-.'^tone of the new
Catholic Ciiurch of Pi'taluina was laid with be-
coming ceremonies.
September 24, 1875 ('. P. Thomas, a son of
Ezra Thomas, killed in the Canby massacre by
the ]\[odoc Indians, died in Petaluma.
March 3, 1870 — The centennial building of
John Pfun was completed.
April 21, 1876— Captain C. M. Baxter, long
acaptainon the Minturn line of steamers i)lying
between Petaluma and San Francisco, died.
May 19, 1876— The Petaluma Catholic
Church was formally dedicated.
July 14, 1870— A. C. St. John, a prominent
dealer in improved breeds of stock, died.
Septendier 22, lS76-Wm. Elder died, who
was one of Petaluma's most respected jiioneer
merchants.
September 29, 1876— .\. G. Medley, who was
one of Petaluma's earliest jewelers, died.
December 29, 1876 — Wm. B. Spear, a prom-
inent capitalist of Petaluma, died.
January 19, 1877 — Stephen I 'ay ran, long a
resident of East Petalnma and for many veai\s
a justice of tlie peace, died.
April 20, 1877 Petaluma has an exciting
time in deciding whether or not a colored boy
answering to the unusual name of "Jones," shall
be admitted to the privilege of iier public schools.
248
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
June 8, 1877 — Parker E. Weeks, an old-time
resident of Petaluma, passed on.
August 24, 1877 — " Cogniac,"' a Norman
stallion that acquired the title of the " man
eater," killed a man at the Petaluma Fair
Grounds. Cugniac took tlie man and shook
him like a dog would a rabbit, until he was
dead. The horse was valued at 810,000, but he
was a terror to humanity.
October 12, 1877— F. D. Colton, long a law-
yer of prominence in Petaluma, died in San
Francisco.
February 22, 1878 — J. N. McCune, a former
resident of Petaluma, but for many years a
commission merchant of San Francisco, died.
March 15, 1878 — D. D. Cardie, a lawyer and
one of Petaluma's pioneer citizens, died.
Jnue 14, 1878— X. O. Stafford, a pioneer res-
ident of Petaluma, died at Tustin City, Los
Angelos County.
August 9, 1878 — J. M. ]>owles started a new
flowering mill in Petaluma.
September 6, 1878 — Martin llarr, the manu-
facturer of the celebrated saddle-trees bearing
his name, died.
September 0, 1878 — Kev. Henry Ward
Beecher, the eminent pulpit orator, delivered a
lecture in Petaluma.
October IS, 1S78— Petaluma sent sl,u97.25
to the yellow fever sufferers of the South.
November 29, 1878 — Daniel S. Lane, who
for eight years had been a principal writer on
the Argus staff, died.
November 14, 1879 — Captain Edward Lata-
pie, long of Petaluma, until elected county
sheriff', died.
April 30, 1880— F. P. McNear, assistant
cashier of tlie l>ank of Sonoma Count}', died.
March 4, 1881 — Harlow Hinkston, an aged
gentleman of Petaluma, died.
May 13, 1881— Captain Weimer sold tlie
steamer Pilot to A. McFnrland & Co.
June 3, 1881 — Wm. II. Dalton, one of Peta-
Inma's most valued business men, died.
June 22, 1881 — A California lion of large
size was killed within the limits of Petaluma.
May 12, 1882 — The new water reservoir for
Petaluma, with a capacity of 2,500,000, was
completed.
June 2, 1882 — Captain Oliver Allen, an
esteemed citizen, died.
July 28, 1882— Josiah Chandler, one of the
oldest citizens of Petaluma and a lawyer of good
ability, died.
March 3, 1883 — A company was organized
and a fruit caimer}' started in Petaluma.
May 19, 1883 — A. J. J. Pearce, a young man
of prominence in Petaluma, died.
May 26, 1883 — The steamer Pilot blew up a
few miles below Petaluma, and seven lives were
lost.
December 8, 1883 — The Main street of
Petaluma was being paved with basalt blocks.
February 16, 1884— Hon. A. P. Whitney,
one of Petaluma's most stirring business men,
died.
July 5, 1884 — G. R. Codding, who had long
been identified with Petaluma, died.
August 16, 1884 — A fruit dryer was put in
operation in Petaluma.
September 13, 1884 — Dr. J. B. Christie, one
of Petaluma's most cultured professional men,
died.
September 27, 1884 — Colonel Robert Inger-
soll, the great orator, lectured in Petaluma.
December 6, 1884 — Dr. Isaac L. Dias, a
dentist and quite an inventor, was killed
accidentally while hunting.
December 13. 1884 — Captain James Kennell v,
a well-known and much respected mechanic,
died.
December 27, 1884— The Petaluma Golden
Eagle Flour Mills were burned.
April 18, 1885 — Dr. A. P. Lovejoy, a dentist
and for many years telegraph operator in
Petaluma, died.
September 19, 1885— "Josh Billings" (H.
W. Shaw), the humorist, lectured in Petaluma.
It was ne.xt to the last lecturS he ever delivered,
as he died very suddenly at the Hotel Del
Monte, Monterey, a few days thereafter.
October 17, 1885 — Captain Cornelius Iloyer,
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY.
249
wlio bad liad long experience as a sea captain,
died at a rijie old age.
April 24, 1886— William L. Van Doren, an
old-time resident, and a pioneer hotel-keeper in
Petaluma, died.
September 4, 1886 — Tbe residence of Mr.
Henry Homes, of Petaluma, was burned, and
his little daughter Pearl, nine years of age,
perished in the flames.
October 9, 1886— Henry (ioldstein, who had
been in business in Petaluma over a quarter of
a century, died.
October 10, 1886 — Jerome B. Gossage, an old
resident near Petaluma, died.
October 25, 1886— J. McA. Brown was
thrown violently from his vehicle and sustained
injuries that resulted in death.
October 30, 1886— C. P. Bigsby, one of the
first niembers of the Congregational Church in
Petaluma, died.
November 6, 1886— AVilliam D. Bliss, one of
Petaluma's most cultured citizens, and a lawyer
of long practice, died. His mother, now de-
ceased a few years, was the wife of George
Bancroft, the American historian.
December 3, 1887 — Jolin i'owman, an octo-
genarian, and esteemed by all, died.
December 17, 1887 — Ifenry Gregory, a good
and useful citizen, died suddenly at his brother's
ranch in the country.
December 24, 1887 — Julius Bloom was killed
at Petaluma by a railroad accident. He was
city marshal of Petaluma.
December 31, 1887— AVilliam L. Keys, than
whom amore conscientious man never lived, died.
January 22, 1888— H. Haskell, an old-time
merchant of Petaluma, died.
January 22, 1888 — James D. Thompson, one
of Petaluma's oldest citizens, died.
February 4, 1888 — Joshua S! Brackett, one
of Sonoma County's pioneers, died.
March 3, 1888 — Deacon David Stuart, a good
and exemplary citizen, died.
May 5, 1888 — The corner-stone of the Catho-
lic convent buildinj; was laid with the usual
ceremonies.
July 28, 1888— By the death of Dr. W. W.
Carpenter, Petaluma lost one of its most cul-
tured citizens.
AVe have given in their chronological order
the deaths of many of Petaluma's pioneer and
prominent men. It is in place to mention the
names of some of the matrons who were pioneer
residents of Petaluma. In the Petaluma Argus
of June 11, 1880, we find the following:
" Thursday last was the occasion of a very
pleasant gathering of aged ladies in this city, at
the residence of Mrs. Jacob Gilbert, who on
that day had reached her seventy-eighth birth-
day. Some seventeen of her aged lady friends
organized a surprise and in a body called upon
Mrs. Gilbert. Although it may not be con-
sidered very gallant in us to give to the world
the respective ages of these mothers in Israel,
yet, as we have them from one who knows, we
give them as follows: Mrs. Button, Vermont,
70; Mrs. Colby, Vermont, 73; Mrs. AVeber,
A^ermont, 75; Mrs. Otis, Vermont, 71; Mrs.
Pierce, Vermont, 06; Mrs. Donaldson, New
York, 70; Mrs. Pickett, New York, 78; Mrs.
Gilbert, New York, 78; Mrs. Cooper, New
York, 66; Mrs. Sweatland, Massachusetts, 79;
Mrs. Eickert, Massachusetts, 64; Mrs. Mc-
Curdy, Maine, 76; Mrs. Lewis, Virginia, 62;
Mrs. (Barrett, Maine, 60; Mrs. AVilliams, Maine,
88; Mrs. Galispie, Indiana, 60; Mrs. Keys,
England, 06; Mrs. Brown, Ohio, 79. Total
ages, 1,287; average ages, seventy-one years
and six months. Of the eighteen assembled
sixteen were widows. AYe presume that these
now aged matrons little dreamed in the long
ago that life's sunset would find them on the
golden shores of the Pacific."
Of these aged ladies who met in social re-
union in 1880, at the present writing (1888),
the feet of two thirds of them have pressed
already the summit between earth and the illim-
itable vales of the great evermore.
Below we give a fair statement of the magni-
tude and importance of Petaluma, its industries
and advantages:
Petaluma lias a present population of nearly
250
BISTORT OP SOlfOMA OOXJNTf.
5,000. She is located about thirty-eight miles
by rail, north of San Francisco. She commands
the head of navigation on an arm of San Pablo
Kay, and occupies a position of freight advant-
ages, considering- the vast amount of produce of
which she is the shipping center, enjoyed by no
other city of the size in the State. Back of,
and tributary to Petaluma, is an extent of rich
teri'itory of an average of twelve miles in width
and twenty miles in lengtii, that sends all of its
]iroduce this way, including nuicli produced
outside of these lines that seeks IVtaiunia for
vheap transportation.
Referring back to statistics published we find
the foHowing in reference to the magnitude of
the railroad tratHc between Tetaluma and San
Francisco: In 1877 the railroad company took
in for passenger fares !?213,879.23; fur freight,
i^208,25G.OO ; for other items, §;8,546.13 ; a
trrand total of $-1:30,081.36. By reference to a
statistical article it will be seen what the traffic
on the creek mute was in 1880. By combining
these figures of the two carrying routes the
reader will get an approximate idea of the busi-
ness of I'etaluma and surrounding country at
the present time.
In' order that people of future generations
may rightly understand the extent of Petaluma
as a trade-center we submit the following com-
pilation of statistics for the year 1880. These
statistics were prepared by I. G. AVickersham,
.John A. McNear and A. P. Whitney (since de-
ceased) and submitted to the city rrustees of
Petaluma at the time Congressional aid was be-
ing asked to straighten tlie creek. The report
is prefaced by saying: "The steamer Pilot
makes daily trips to and from San Francisco,
and in addition to her freight, has carried 13,000
passengers. Thirty schooners, of an average
tonnage of lifty tons, are engaged regularly in
the trade, and about twenty other transient
schooners a portion of the year. AVe have not
included in our estimate shipments made over
the railroad by way ot Donahue, many shippers
preferring that route on account of the delay
and uncertainty of time by tiie creek." The
following showing was then made for the year
on the creek route alone:
Wheat, 28,825tons; barley, 3,000 tons; oats,
3,425 tons; potatoes, 9,997 tons; bran and mid-
dlings, 375 tons; corn, 250 tons; hay, 5,700
tons; coal, 1,800 tons; fruit, G0,000 boxes,
1,333 tons; butter, 1,277 tons; cheese, 129
tons; salt, 200 tons; wool, 81 tons; leather, 80
tons; other and mixed merchandise, 31,200
tons; eggs, 95,6(58 dozen; wood, 1,000 cords;
tan-bark, 250 cords; brick, 100,000; lumber,
1,230,000 feet; lime, 1,000 barrels; basalt pav-
ing blocks, 1,583,000; live-stock, 53,200 head;
poultry, 5,380 dozen; quail and other game,
5,100 dozen; hides (green), 6,418; sheep pelts,
5,110.
It should be remembered that all these figures
relate to the ti-affic for one year by water route
between Petaluma and San Francisco, and that
there must be added thereto the heav^- business
done by way of the railroad.
Another great advantage which Petaluma
possesses — and which can never be taken from
her — is competition between rail and water in
getting her products to market. There are no
hydraulic miners on the high ground to fill up
the channel with debris. Xo farmers are im-
poverishing the soil hy washing the finer par-
ticles into the stream by irrigation, for here
irrigation is unknown and entirely unnecessar}-,
as nature abundantly sup23lies us with the neces-
sary' moisture from the clouds to produce a crop
in the drj^est years. For a town of only 5,000
inhabitants, Petaluma enjoys a very large trade.
The merchants of Petaluma, in consequence of
the low freights to San Francisco, can pay a
higher price for produce than otliers not so well
situated. The town is surrounded b}' a rich and
productive country, and all tlie produce of this
region is shipped from here. Among the many
advantages J^etaluma possesses as a place for
residence, it may be mentioned that the death
rate is as low here as it is in any town of its
size that we have any account of. The climate is
as near perfect as could be reasonably desired.
The temperature, as will be seen by the table
fflSfOSY OF SONOMA OOtrNff.
^51
furnished by the accommodating agent of the
S. F. & N. P. R. II., appearing in another col-
umn, is ahout as even as at San Diego. It is
rarely below 32° in the winter or above 90^ in
the summer months. Petalnma lias more clear,
sunny days tlian any place on the Pacitic coast
from which the Signal Service makes reports —
except Fort i'uma. Petaluina is abundantly
sujiplied with good, pure water from the Sonoma
Mountains. The manufacturing industries are
quite an important item — and constantly grow-
ing. The public and private schools, the high-
school, are a credit to tlie place, and our school
facilities will soon be materially enlarged. She
lias a tine public library, and churches of all
denominations — e.xcept Mormon. The business
streets are paved with basalt rock blocks, and all
the streets are liberally lighted with gas. Liv-
ing is clieap in Petaluma, and the markets well
supplied with fresh vegetables every month in
the year, that are raised in this city and its im-
mediate vicinity. In order to reach Petaluma
from San Francisco, get on the Tiburon ferry-
boat at the foot of Market street and it will
land you at the cars which run through the
M'hoie length of Sonoma County. You can ob-
tain an excursion ticket to Petaluma and return
for $1. If you have plenty of time and wish
-to see the splendid bays of San Francisco and San
Pablo, and the fine scenery on the way, take the
steamer (fol(/, which leaves Jackson -street wharf
every day at 2:30 v. m. The fare by this route
is 50 cents, including the ride in the 'bus from
the steamer landing to the hotels in Petaluma.
There is not another city in the State of its
size that has as good a system of water-works as
lias Peteluma. The water comes pure from the
streams of the Sonoma Mountains about four
miles distant and rills a reservoir of near three
million gallons capacity. This reservoir is at
such an altitude as to give great pressure upon
the water pipes of the city. As a consequence
our numerous hydrants give almost absolute
security against tires. This, in addition to our
excellent lire department, reduces tire insurance
to the lowest rate.
Petaluma has as complete a system of gas
works as is to be found in the State. All the
leading streets are illuminated. On account of
the cheap transportation of coal the gas is fur-
nished at prices as low as in any city outside of
San Francisco. The gas works are of capacity
sufficient to accommodate a large increase ot
population.
The health of a city is largely dependent
upon good sewerage. Petaluma, in this respect,
occupies a most favored position. Twice a day,
with a rise and fall of six feet, salt water fi-esh
from San Francisco I'ay ebbs and Hows through
the city. The streets have ample grade, and a
thorough system of stone-pipe sewers precipi-
tates the drainage into this ever moving salt
water. Tiiere are inland cities of California
that would gladly give $100,000 for Petal uma's
drainage facilities.
Masonic Temple is an imposing sti-ucturc
erected by the Masonic lodges of IMastei- Ma-
sons of Petaluma fit a cost of about ife40,000.
It is a three-story building, and the hall, proper,
is one of the most ornate rooms in the State, in
which two lodges of JVEasons, the chajiter of
Iloyal Arch Masons, the Knights Templar and
the Eastern Star hold their stated meetings.
The Mutual Relief Association of Petaluma,
out of its reserve fund, has built one of the
finest three-story, tire-proof buildings in the
county.
The new city hall is a very imjiosing struct-
ure, and cost the city over $16,000. It is an
ornament to the city, and strangers visiting
here will see in it a sample of Petaluma's thrift
and prosperity. But few cities in the State can
afl;brd so elegant an editice simply for municipal
purposes.
The Petaluma Tannery is an old and well
established manufacturing establishment of
Petaluma. The out-put of leather from this
establishment is very large every year, and it
takes rank with the best leather manufactured
west of the Rocky Jfountains. This tannery
has been in successful o]ieration tor twelve or
tifteen years.
252
BISTORT OP SONOMA COUNTY.
Mr. W. Worth who had previously occupied
the position of superiuteudent and foreman of
tiie great Union Iron Works of San Francisco,
came to Petahuiia in 1880 and bouglit out the
foundry business then owned by Mr. Hatch.
On his actpiring possession he turned liis at-
tention to the wants of Sonoma and Marin
counties, the former being largely interested in
grape growing and wine making, and the latter .
principally dairying. Mr. Worth, who pos-
sesses more than ordinary genius for mechanical
appliances, has patented his justly celebrated
dairy horse-power, which has proved a great
success and can be found in nearly all well
e(iuipped dairies in the State. He next turned
his mind to assist the vigneron in the produc-
tion of wines, and therefore manufactured a wine
press, which he had invented and patented in
1884. Previous to Mr. Worth's introducing
his press there was in use the old Spanish style
of press, consisting merely of a timber 20x24
inches thick and about thirty feet long, built
usually where they could find a tree for a ful-
crum using a basket held by two hoops with the
staves bolted to them, leaving spaces between
for the juice to escape.
The Petaluma Woolen Mills have the rcjiuta-
tion of turning out theltest flannels and blankets
manufactured in the State. Its flannels are in
such demand that our local merchants can hardly
secure their fair share for 4he home trade. As
time progresses its manufacturing capacity will
be enlarged and we expect to see the day when
the woolen goods manufactured in Petaluma
will be sought for far and wide. The wool from
Sonoma, Mendocino and Humboldt counties is
the best and cleanest in the State, which enables
this mill to do superior work.
Petaluma is not behind any city in the State
of her size in reference to her capacity to turn
out good merchantable flour. The Oriental
Mills have for long years turned out a good
quality of domestic flour, and have built up a
wide trade. The Golden Eagle ililling Co. has
established a large manufactory by the roller
process, which is turning out flour of as good
quality as can be found in the State. This mill
is a four-story brick structure with one of the
largest warehouses in the county from whicii
it draws choice grain for milling purposes.
Petaluma has become famous for its manu-
facture of wagons and carts. All up and down
the State her wheeled vehicles are in common
use. This attests that our various manufactur-
ers in this line have the capacity and mechani-
cal skill to mar.ufacture all kinds of wheeled
vehicles of best quality and pattern. Wher-
ever you go in California you see Petaluma
inscribed upon the axles of vehicles.
K^ext to natural advantages a manufacturing
enterprise is conducive to the welfare of any
community in which it is situated, but when one
like the Petaluma Fruit Packing Company,
purchasing the products of the surrounding
country, paying the highest market price there-
for, and producing an article that is in demand
all over the land, is there situated, it becomes
an institution such that the benefits resultant
therefrom can hardly be computed. In this
respect the citizens of Petaluma have special
cause for congratulation, and regard the Peta-
luma Fruit Packing Company as one in which
they take an individual pride; and not only is
the industry of local interest, but it is one
whose renown is as wide as the boundaries of
the State. The company was organized in 1883.
The firm of De Long, Ashby tt Co. succeeded
to the interests of the Petaluma Fruit Packing
Company about three years ago, and have under
the able management of j\Ir. D. E. Ashby, estab-
lished a business that is equal to any in the State.
The Odd Fellows have a fine iron front block
in which they have a large, commodious hall.
This organization has a large membership, and
is financially prosperous. It is one of the solid
and enduring institutions of Petaluma.
For long years a planing mill has been in suc-
cessful operation in Petaluma. In all Peta-
luma's vast improvements it has turned out the
sash, doors, moldings, cornice and brackets for
local use. It is one of her useful and perma-
nent industries.
SISTORT OF SONOMA COffNTT.
253
There are hut few cities on the Pacific coast
with the pojiulation of Petaluina (ahout 5,000)
that has four hanks. Petahima lias fonr hanks
capitalized as follows: First National Bank,
paid-up capital, 8200,000, surplus, $75,800;
Hunk of Sonoma County, paid-up capital §300,-
000, surplus, 820,000; Pctaluma Savings Bank,
paid-up capital, $100,000, surplus, §00,000;
Hill & Son, capital, §150,000. It will thus he
seen that the capital of our hanks aloneamounts
to over §1)00,000.
There is not a city in the State of like popu-
lation that has a hetter showing of public school
edifices than Petaluma. She had already five
school edifices, but to meet a growing need, a
new building costing over §16,000 is just near-
ing completion.
The outlying country around Petaluma, em-
braced in Petaluma Township, amounts to over
40,000 acres of good farming, fruit and dairy
lands. Immediately north of Petaluma, and
bordering on the city limits, are several thou-
sand acres of choice fruit land. Two Rock Val-
ley is in this township, and it is oneof the ricli-
est and most productive little valleys in the
county. West of Petaluma, and extending to the
San Antonio Creek, is a fine dairy and stock re-
gion. The assessed value of property in city and
township is over §3,200,000.
Stony Point (sometimes designated Washoe
House) is in Petaluma Township. It is in the
midst of a productive fruit country, and has a
hotel, postoftice and blacksmith shop.
The following members of the medical jiro-
fession have occupied the Petaluma field:
Dr. S. W. Brown, died in 1.SG2.
Dr. Wm. Wells is a pioneer of Petaluma.
Dr. T. A. Ilylton, died on his way to Neva-
da, in 1859.
Dr. T. L. Barnes left Petaluma about 1805,
and went to Ukiah, where he now resides.
Dr. Hoffman staid but a short time.
Dr. Bond died here about 1870.
Dr. Burnett was elected State Senator and
died liefore his term expired.
Dr. Cluness was partner of Dr. Burnett; went
to Sacramento in 1870, to succeed Dr. J. F.
Morse, and still resides there.
Dr. Voellen went to Sacramento, and is there
at present.
Dr. Alex. Stewart succeeded^Dr. Wells; went
to San Francisco about 1875 and died there.
Dr. Gildersleave succeeded Dr. Stewart, and
left aljout 1878 for Arizona.
Dr. Patty succeeded Dr. Gildersleave, and is
now in Petaluma.
Dr. McTaggert resided in I'etaluma a short
time, then went to Sonoma and from there to
San Francisco.
Mrs. Dr. S. Nichols resided in Petaluma
about seven years and left in 1887; is now in San
Diego County.
Dr. McWhinnie came to Petaluma from New
York, practiced two or three years and died at
Petaluma.
Mrs. Perkins practiced in Petaluma, wlieiv she
is now^ living.
Dr. and Mrs. Remarque have been in Peta-
luma for twenty years and still remain.
Dr. and Mrs. Fifield have been in Petaluma
five or six years.
Dr. Ivancovich has been in Petaluma about
eight years.
Dr. Proctor came to Petaluma about two
years ago and is still practicing.
Dr. J. B. Smith came to Petaluma from Ukiah
about fifteen years ago and is still in practice.
Dr. Trenholtz has been in Petaluma three or
four years.
Dr. G. B. Davis succeeded ]\[rs. Nichols and
is still practicing here.
Dr. W. W. Carpenter came here about twenty
years ago and died lately in San Francisco.
Dr. Goshen, specialist.
Dr. ]\r. Donald, specialist.
Dr. Warren came to Petaluma from Valley
Ford; died recently in San Francisco.
Dr. Shepperd lias been in Petaluma over
twenty-five years and is now liere.
Dr. Christie came to Petaluma from Canada;
practiced a few years and died.
Dr. McGuire practiced a few years in Peta-
254
UtSTOMT OP SONOMA COtTNTY.
liiiiui, tlieii went to (iiierucvillc, where he
died.
George Walker Graves, M. D., born in Vir-
ginia, near lliclimond, in 1831; commenced
medical studies in 1855; entered Medical College
of Virginia and graduated March 9, 1858; caine
to Fetaluma in spring of 1869; been liere since.
Josiah II. Crane, M. D., born in Warren
County, Ohio, August 31, 1820, near Lebanon;
commenced the study of medicine in St. Louis;
graduated from St. Louis Medical College in
1844; located in the spring of 1844 in St. Jos-
eph, Mo.; came to Petal u ma in 1805.
In the following we summarize a few of the
most important institutidus and in<lustries of
Petaluma:
Petaluma Lochje F. cL' .1. M. — Organized
January 15, 1855; with Dr. T. L. Ilarnes, S. J.
Smith, W. R. Swinerton, Uriah Edwards, II.
iiassett, 15. Newman, A. I\ Barton, L. Han-
cock, L. Walker, Wm. t'onley, James Samuels,
J. G. Ilntf, I. K. Walker and J. C. Derrick, as
charter members.
PetaJidiia Chcqjter, Nv. ~~', li. A. J/. — This
chapter was organized under dispensation and
granted a charter, the members applying for
such being Thomas L. Barnes, Philip R. Thomp-
son, L. E. Brooks, M. R. Evans, William Bur-
nett, P. W. Eandle, S. Powell, Job Cash,
AV^illiam Ross, and others. The first holders of
otlice were: High Priest, Thomas L. Barnes;
King, Philip R. Thompson; Scribe, L. E. Brooks.
Areturus Lothje, No. ISO, F. c6 A. J/".— This
lodge was organized c)n Octobler 11, 1866,
and a charter granted by the Grand Lodge of
California to Right Worshipful Master^ C. Sim-
mons; Senior Warden, Simon Conrad, and
.luniiir AVarden, Benjamin F. Tuttle, who hehl
utbce under dispensation. The lodge now has a
roll of seventy-five members.
Relief Encainjjineiit, No. ,19., I. 0. 0. F. —
Was instituted July 11, 1868, the charter mem-
bers being David Sullivan, G. Warren, B. Bow-
man, J. S. Cutter, L. Ellsworth, James K.
Knowles, William Zartman, Moses Korn. The
first officers of the encampment were: G. War-
ren, C. P.; J. S. Cutter, II. P.; L. Ellsworth,
S. W.: B. Bowen, Scribe; William Zartman.
Treasurer; David Sullivan, J. W.
I'etaluma Lodfje, Wo. -JO, 1. 0. <). F. — This
lodge was instituted on September 30, 1854,
with the following charter members: Daniel
McLaren, S. C. Hayden, S. M. Martin, Thomas
M. Murray, E. S. ]\IcMurray, Stephen Payran,
Charles Purvine, William Ayers. The original
officers were: Daniel McLaren, N. (r.; S. C.
Hayden, V. G.; S. M. Martin, R. S.; William
Ayers, Treasurer.
Fetaluma Lodge, No. IGl, I. 0. (J. T. —
This lodge is the result of the consolidations of
the lodges Star of the AVest, No. 380, and Star-
light, No. 101, which was effected February 3,
1879. The number of charter members was
thirty-five, and the officers under that grant:
AVilliam C. Ordway, AV. C. T.; Clara Wright.
AV. A". T.; J. S. Fillmore, Chaplain; Ella Gale,
AV. S.; A. G. Twist, AV. A. S.; L. D. (iale, ^\ .
F. S.; Mrs. C. A. Ten Eyck, W. T.; Gordon
Cameron, AV. M.; Jennie Cameron, W. D. M.;
DoUie Schlosser, AV. I. G.; Aleck Connelly, AV.
O. G.; Sadie Wright, AV. R. S.; Ella Benja-
min, AV. L. S.; J. 15. Schlosser, P. AV. C. T.; II.
II. Jessup, L. D.
Methodist Fpiscojxil VInireh. — In August,
1855, a church was organized at Petaluma, and a
building erected where now stands the new city
hall. In the very early days Rev. Jonas Speck
was the minister in charge of the Petaluma cir-
cuit as was also Rev. A. L. S. Bateman. Pcta-
Inma was then made a station and Rev. James
Hunter was the first ])astor. It has always been
a prosperous church. The church building, on
tUe northwest corner of Keller street and AVest-
ern avenue, was begun in 1865, and finished in
1874, during the pastorate of Rev. A. J.
Nelson. It is of brick, gothic in style of archi-
tecture, is 85 by 56 feet in dimensions, and 35
feet from floor to ceiling. It is handsomely
finished and furnished, and is lighted with gas,
b}' means of two large sun burners. It has
gallery, orchestra and class-rooms. The build-
ing was erected at cost of $18,000.
niSTORt OF SONOMA COUNTY.
The J*'irst liaptint Church, I'etaliinia. — On
Stibljatli, the ITtli day of July, 1853, in Bodega,
yoiioina County, uj)on a call made by Hev. A. A.
(Tuernsey, the Ibllowinir brethren and sisters
presented themselves for the purpose of being
organized into a liajjtist churcli: John C.
Hughes, Jane iliifrhes, ^^'orhanl Easley, Eliza-
beth A. Easley, Ari Hopper, Susannah Hojiper.
The church was duly organized as the First Ijap-
tist Church of Bodega. Rev. A. A. Guernsey
was elected pastor, and AVorliani Easle\', clerk.
Articles of faitli and practice were adopted. The
church lield its regular monthly meetings at
liudega until the second Saturday in October,
185B, when it was voted to adjourn, to meet in
Petaluma. The meetings were continued in
Petaluma statedly. On the Saturday before
the first Saljbath in November, 1854, the church,
by vote, changed the name from the First Bap-
tist Church of Bodega to the First Baptist
Churcli of Petaluma. In February, 1855, a
movement was set on foot to secure a suitable
lot and procure funds to erect a meeting- house.
In March, 1855, a corporation by the name of
the Baptist church and society was formed,
witli James Hogal, William Conley and Mr.
Mathews as trustees, Fleming Sjiencer, clerk,
and deacon Michael Barnes, treasurer. During
the year 1857, a church edifice, 40 by 60 feet,
was completed, with a seating capacity of about
400. The same edifice, with some improve-
ments, remains to the present time.
Methodist Church, Sov.th. — This chui'ch
which is situated on the southeast corner of
Liberty street and Western avenue, Petaluma,
was the outgrowth of the labors of Samuel
Brown, who came to this city by direction of
the Pacific Conference, commenced preaching
in the fall of 1859, and finally established a
church undei- the rules and regulations of the
above-named body. The organization was rep-
resented by about twenty-five members, who held
their first services in the Baptist Church and Mc-
Cune's Hall until the present edifice was erected
in the year 1800. This structure is 40 x GO feet,
built of brick, and lias a seating capacity of 250.
St. John's Kphvopal Church is located at
the corner of C an^ Fifth streets. The church
is gothic in its style of architecture, with a seat-
ing capacity of from 300 to 400. The interests
of the parish of St. Julin were first entrusted to
Rev. G. B. Taylor, who after a time was suc-
ceeded by the Rev. Mr. Siueathman, the vesti'y
being at that period com])osed of Messrs. Jliiie,
Wickersham, Carder, AVeston, Sprague, Sweet-
land and Cooper. Messrs. Carder, Cooper,
Sprague and Wickersham being nominated
treasurer, secretary, and wardens resijectivelv.
On January 29, 18tjO, the church was declared
ready for consecration, which was didy dime by
the Right Reverend W. Ingraham Kip, bishop
of the diocese uf California, before a large con-
gregation.
Coiigregutioiud Church. — This is one of tiic
oldest cliurch edifices in Petaluma. It is on the
corner of l-'ifth and B streets. The building
was erected in 1857, Rev. A. A. Baker being
its first pastor. After a few years the building
was found inadequate for the size of the congre-
gation and it was enlarged. Around it cluster
a great many pioneer memories.
St. 1^1710611^8 Catholic Church. —The old
Catholic church stood on the hill, 
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