F 'i 
 -PiB 
 
 CORNELL 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 BEQUEST 
 
 JAMES McCALL 
 
 Class op 1885 
 
 1944 
 
Cornell University Library 
 F 856 P18 
 
 of the old Camornian^^^^^^ 
 
 olin 
 
The original of tiiis book is in 
 tine Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924028918989 
 

 THE 
 
 ASSOCIATED PIONEERS 
 
 TERRITORIAL DAYS OF 
 
 CALIFORNIA, 
 
 Ctty of JVew J/Tork. 
 
 ORQANIZED FEBRUARY 11th, 1875. 
 
 GEN'L H. GATES GIBSON, President. 
 
 JOHN SICKELS, Vice-President. 
 
 FRANCIS D. CLARK, Sec-y and Treas. 
 
 Wew York: 
 
 THE FRANK McELROT MERCANTILE STEAM PHINTINO HOUSE, 
 Nob. 99 AND 101 William Stbeex. 
 
 1875. 
 
-^ 
 
 f\7-^zUY 
 
 IK 
 
 .1.1 M'l'nll;' 
 
 y 'I i; V, 1 \'iKiiJ . 
 
I^E-UKTIOKTS 
 
 or 
 
 OLD GALIFORNIANS 
 
 N-EA^ YOUK. 
 
 The annual re-union of old Californians, now resident 
 of the city of New York and its immediate vicinity, was 
 inaugurated on the evening of the 6th of March, 1872, by 
 a party of gentlemen, former members of that pioneer 
 regiment to the Pacific coast in 1847, known as 
 " Stevenson's California Begiment of New York Volun- 
 teers." The party assembled at the residence of a 
 former comrade, John Wolf, Esq., on West 23d street, 
 and upon the invitation of that gentleman. Of the regi- 
 ment there were present : its former surgeon, Dr. Alex. 
 Perry, Capt. James M. Turner, Lieut. Jeremiah Sher- 
 wood ; privates Eussell Myers, Francis D. Clark and 
 
John Wolf, the host. Among the guests, were Mr. O. H. 
 Pierson, an old '49er, and John A. Sutter, Jr., grandson 
 of that old pioneer. General John A. Sutter. The even- 
 ing was the twenty-fifth anniversary of the arrival of the 
 ship Thos. H. Perkins, the pioneer ship of the fleet which 
 conveyed the regiment to California. Letters of regret 
 were received from absent comrades, Major General 
 Jas. A. Hardie, Inspector General U. S. A., formerly major 
 of the regiment ; Generals Nelson, Taylor and Francis 
 J. Lippitt, formerly Captains ; Hon. Sherman 0. Hough- 
 ton, House of Eepresentatives, formerly a member of Co- 
 A., as also letters from other distinguished gentlemen 
 residing away from the city. It was at this little gather- 
 ing that the subject was discussed of the organization of 
 a "Society of California Pioneers of New York City," 
 all Californians of 1849 and prior, to be eligible, the 
 society to act in concert with the one at San Francisco. 
 
 On the following year, in the month of March, the 
 second re-union took place, and there assembled at the 
 residence of Mr. Wolf, Dr. Perry, Capt. Turner, Lieut. 
 Sherwood, Privates Myers, Clark, Wolf, as also the fol- 
 lowing who were not among those present upon the 
 former occasion, privates Jacob J. Schoonmaker, Wm. 
 H. Eogers, James E. Nuttman, Jacob W. Norris and 
 John Taylor, and thus was another evening passed in a 
 joyous re-union of these early pioneers. 
 
 In the month of March, 1874, the members of the regi- 
 ment decided to hold the re-union of that year at one of 
 our hotels in consequence of sickness in the family of 
 their comrade, Mr. Wolf, himself also an invalid, and 
 while arrangements were being effected for that purpose 
 the proposition was made to those gentlemen having the 
 matter in charge, by a number of 49ers, to join the two 
 elements upon the present occasion, and have a re-union 
 of California Pioneers, on the evening of the 26th March, 
 1874, celebrating the twenty-seventh anniversary of the 
 landing of Stevenson's Begiment of New York Volunteers 
 at San Francisco, and the following circular was issued 
 and addressed to all pioneers known to be residents of 
 this and adjoining States : 
 
18i7. KE-UNION OF CALIFOENIA PI0NEEB8. 1874. 
 
 New Toek, March 16, 1874. 
 The undersigned take pleasure in announcing, that arrangements 
 have been completed for a Ee-union of California Pioneers, to be held 
 at the Stukievant House, Broadway, 28th and 29th Streets, on Thurs- 
 day Evening, the 26th instant, at 8 o'clock, being the twenty-seventh 
 Anniversary of the landing of Col. Stevenson's Eegiment of New York 
 Volunteers, at SanFrancisco, Cal. 
 
 Should you be pleased to participate in the Ee-union, a response 
 addressed to the Secretary will meet with attention. 
 
 Committee oe Aeeangements. 
 
 Sargeon ALEXANDER PEEEY, 
 Lieut. J. SHERWOOD, 
 JAMES E. NUTTMAN, 
 EtrSSBLL MYERS, 
 FRANCIS D. CLARK, 
 JOHN ■WOLF. 
 
 H S Maj. Gen. H. GATES GIBSON, U. S. A. 
 H H " FRANCIS E. PINTO, 
 
 S g Hon. JAS. S. WETHERED, 
 
 ■ g a JOHN SICKLES, 
 
 BO O. H. PIEBSON, 
 
 ^ 3- JACOB P. LEESE. 
 
 ES 
 
 ALEXANDER PEEET, M. D. Chairman, 
 LIEUT. J. SHEEWOOD, Treasurer, 
 
 1172 Broadway. 
 Gen. FRANCIS E. PINTO, Seo'y, 
 
 106 Wall street. 
 
 Upon the evening indicated there assembled at the 
 Sturtevant House a large and enthusiastic gathering 
 of Californians of the early days — among the number 
 being Commodore C. K. Garrison, General Thos. B. 
 Van Buren, Willard B. Farwell, William CoUigan, 
 William M. Walton, Jas. F. Curtis, John Lambier, H. P. 
 Townsend, G. A. Mendon, James Stark, the old pioneer 
 actor ; E. W. Crowell, and besides the gentlemen com- 
 posing the committee of arrangements there were some 
 fifteen former members of the regiment present, and 
 among the guests were Bufus Hatch, Esq., Vice-Presi- 
 dent of the Pacific Mail SS. Co., and Clark Bell, Esq., 
 Counsel to the Company, who represented the old 
 pioneer Steamship Company of California. This assem- 
 blage unanimously voted that the re-union so worthily 
 inaugurated by the little band of Stevenson's regiment 
 should henceforth assume a permanent character, and 
 upon the motion of Mr. O. H. Pierson, the present com- 
 pany adjourn to meet again, if alive, during the coming 
 winter, and in furtherance of that resolution the follow- 
 ing circular was issued, calling a meeting of old Califor- 
 nians at the Sturtevant House on the evening of the 
 28th January, 1875. 
 
6 
 
 TEBRITOKIAL DAYS OF CALIFOKNIA. 
 
 RE-UNION OF OLD CALIFORNIANS. 
 
 MEXICAN AND AMERICAN. 
 
 New Tobf, Jannary, 21, 1875. 
 
 A meeting of gentlemen -who were residents of California, prior to 
 its admission as a State into the Union, September 9, 1850, will be held 
 at the Stuetetakt House, Broadway, 28th and 29th Streets, on Thurs- 
 day evening, 28th instant, at 8 o'clock. 
 
 The object of the meeting is for the purpose of selecting a Committee 
 of Arrangements for a proposed Ke-union Banquet, at an early day, as 
 also to obtain the views of those intending to participate upon the 
 occasion. 
 
 The Re-union of the 26th of March lasi was attended with so much 
 pleasure and satisfaction, that those who were participants, as also 
 many who were unable to be present, have expressed a desire for its 
 repetition the present winter, 
 
 Oalifornians of 1851 and 1852, the early days of the Golden State, are 
 cordially invited to participate. 
 
 Tou are requested to be present upon the evening indicated, or may 
 address a communication (giving your views and expectation of partici- 
 pating), to the Chairman, California Meeting, Sturtevant House. 
 
 Respectfully, etc., 
 
 JACOB P. LEESE, 1833. 
 
 RODMAN M. PRICE, 1846. 
 
 WILLIAM COLLIGAN, 
 
 ALEXANDER PERRY, M.D., 1847. 
 
 JEREMIAH SHERWOOD, 
 
 FRANCIS D. CLARK, 
 
 0. H. PIEESON, 1849. 
 
 E. W. CROWELL, 
 
 S. D. JONES, 
 
 WILLARD B. FARWELL, 
 
 WILLIAM M. WALTON, 
 
 JOHN SICKELS, 
 
 FRANCIS E. PINTO, 
 
 J. A. SPERRY, 
 
 THOMAS D. JOHNS, 1850. 
 
 JAMES F. CURTIS, 
 
This circular was addressed to all old Californians, 
 known to be residents of the city of New York 
 and vicinity, and to many residing in distant States, and 
 in response there assembled at the Sturtevant House, 
 on the evening of the 28th of January, the following 
 named persons : Lieut. Jeremiah Sherwood, George M. 
 Leanard, Eussell Myers, Francis D. Clark, and James 
 E. Nuttman, of Stevenson's Eegiment, 1847 ; General 
 H. Gates Gibson, O. H. Pierson, John Sickels, "William 
 M. Walton, Thos. McSpedon, H. Barnard, Edw. P. 
 Burton, Willard B. Farwell, pioneers of 1849 ; S. L. 
 Merchant, Thos. D. Johns, George W. Stanton, J. A. 
 Prior, of 1850, and James H. Butler of 1852. 
 
 The inclement state of the weather, a heavy storm 
 prevailing, caused many to be absent who otherwise 
 intended to have been at the meeting. 
 
 The meeting was called to order by Mr. Willard B. 
 Farwell, and on motion of that gentleman, General H. 
 Gates Gibson, U. S. A., was chosen chairman, and on 
 motion of Mr. O. H. Pierson, Mr. Francis D. Clark was 
 selected as Secretary. 
 
 The Chairman stated the object of the meeting, which 
 was to make arrangements for the annual banquet of old 
 Californians resident of the city of New York and 
 vicinity. 
 
 On motion of Mr. Pierson it was resolved that the 
 banquet should take place on Thursday evening the 11th 
 of February, at the Sturtevant House. 
 
 The Chair announced the following committees in 
 connection with the banquet, and who were instructed 
 to make aU necessary arrangements for the same. 
 
 COMMITTEE OF ABBANGEMENTS. 
 
 Vice Admieal S. C. Eowan, U. S. Navy, Jacob P. Leese, 
 
 Majob Gen, Joseph Hooeeb, U. S. Army, Jeeemiah Shehwood, 
 
 •' H. Gates Gibson, tJ. S. Army, John Siczbls, 
 
 Hon. Eodman M. Pbicb, Willakd B. Paewell, 
 
 AlEXAKDEE PBEEX, M. P., FeANCEES D. ClABK. 
 
8 
 
 COMMITTEE ON INVITATION. 
 Majob Gkn. Bums Inoallb, U. S. Army. John Sicmxb. 
 
 RECEPTION COMMITTEE. 
 
 Gen. FitANCis E. Pimo, Wiixiam M. Waiton, 
 
 Edgae W. Ckowell, O. H. Pieeson. 
 
 COMMITTEE ON DECORATIONS. 
 
 Jambs F. Cuktis, Majob Etjssell Mtekh, 
 
 ■William Collioan, Col. Jas. E. Nuttman. 
 
 Mr. Claek moved that this meeting proceed to take 
 the necessary steps for the immediate organization of a 
 permanent association, to be known as the "Associated 
 Pioneers of the Territorial days of California." 
 
 Mr. PiERsON moved that the Chairman appoint a com- 
 mittee to frame a constitution and by-laws for the pur- 
 pose of such an organization. 
 
 The Ohaib appointed as such committee Messrs. Johns, 
 Sickels, Walton, Farwell, CoUigan, Myers, Sherwood, 
 Clark and Nuttman, with instructions to make their 
 report on the evening of the banquet. 
 
 After a full exchange of views on the part of those 
 present in relation to the subjects brought before the 
 meeting ; on motion of Mr. Merchant the meeting 
 adjourned until the evening of the 11th of February. 
 
 At a subsequent meeting of the Committee of Arrange- 
 ments the resignation of Dr. Alex. Perry was received in 
 consequence of his inability to attend the banquet. 
 
 On motion of Mr. F. D. Claek the same was accepted 
 and Mr. S. L. Merchant was chosen to fill the vacancy. 
 
 On motion of Mr. John Sickels, Major-Gen. H. Gates 
 Gibson was chosen Chairman of the Committee. 
 
9 
 Eepoet of Committee. 
 
 New Yobk, February 11, 1875. 
 
 At the meeting of Old Californians, held at the Sturte- 
 vant House in this city on Thursday evening the 28th 
 of January last, the undersigned were selected as a com- 
 mittee to prepare a suitable plan of organization for a 
 permanent association, through which the memories of 
 their pioneer experiences in the settlement and deve- 
 lopement of California, during its territorial and early 
 days may be perpetuated to the members of such asso- 
 ciation and their posterity. 
 
 Believing that the best way to perfect such an organi- 
 zation is to approach the subject in the simplest and 
 most concise manner, and to act without unnecessary 
 expenditure of time, the committee have prepared the 
 subjoined brief articles of association, which they hereby 
 submit with the recommendation that they be accepted 
 and signed by all who desire to become members, and 
 by that act thus calling the desired association into 
 immediate existence. 
 
 THOS. D. JOHNS, 1850, Chairman. 
 JOHN SICKELS, 1 
 
 WM. M. WALTON, [ 1849. 
 
 WILLAED B. PAEWELL, J 
 
 WILLIAM COLLIGAN, 1846. 
 
 EUSSELL MYEES, 
 J. SHEEWOOD, 
 FEANCIS D. CLAEK, 
 JAS. B. NUTTMAN, 
 
 Stevenson's 
 
 Kegiment, 
 
 1847. 
 
 Gen. Francis E. Pinto moved the acceptance of the 
 report, and on being seconded by Ex-Gov. Eodman M. 
 Price, the same was unanimously received. 
 
 Thomas D. Johns here presented, as Chairman of 
 the Committee the following. 
 
10 
 
 Abticles of Association. 
 
 1st. This organization shall be called " The Associated 
 Pioneers of the Territorial days of California." 
 
 2d. It shall be composed of all residents of California 
 prior to its admission into the Union, September 9, 1850. 
 
 3d. All former and present citizens of California, who 
 resided there subsequent to September 9, 1850, shall be 
 eligible to " Jionorary membership on the same terms as 
 other members, and shall enjoy all the rights and 
 privileges of the association." 
 
 4:th. The officers shall consist of a President, Vice-Pre- 
 sident and a Secretary (who shall also be Treasurer), 
 they shall constitute ex-officio the Board of Trustees, and 
 shall have the executive management and direction of 
 the association. 
 
 5th. All persons eligible to membership as above shall 
 be and become members of the association on subscrib- 
 ing to these articles of association, and paying to the 
 Treasurer the sum of ten dollars, and without payment 
 of any further dues whatsoever. 
 
 &th. The sums received for membership as above, or 
 from any source whatever, shall be invested by the 
 trustees in United States Government bonds, and placed 
 for safe keeping in the vault of a reliable Safe Deposit 
 Company, not to be withdrawn or appropriated except 
 by vote of the association. The interest on such bonds 
 to be expended from time to time as may be in the 
 judgment of the trustees, requisite for expenses of print- 
 ing stationery, etc., on behalf of the association. 
 
 1th. The annual meeting shall be held on the 
 
 anniversary of the 
 discovery of gold in California. But when that day 
 falls on Saturday or Sunday, the meeting may be held 
 on such other day as the trustees may select. 
 
11 
 
 The articles above enumerated, ■witli the exception of 
 the seventh, as above stated, were unanimously adopted. 
 
 An election of oflBcers for the ensuing year was then 
 proceeded with, and Gen. H. Gates Gibson, U. S. Army, 
 was chosen President, John Siokels, Vice-President, and 
 Francis D. Clark, Secretary and Treasurer. 
 
 THE BANQUET. 
 
 At half-past eight o'clock on Thursday evening, the 
 11th of February, 1875, the old Californians who had 
 assembled in the parlors of the Sturtevant proceeded to 
 the Dining Hall, preceded by Commodore Garrison, Ex- 
 Gov. Bodman M. Price, Jacob P. Leese and Col. James 
 E. Nuttman, followed by some seventy other old residents 
 of California. Upon entering the hall a sumptuous 
 repast was spread upon the boards, the character of 
 which reflected due credit upon the Messrs. Lelands, 
 under whose management this home for Californians is 
 conducted ; the bill of fare bore evidence that in fish, 
 flesh, fruit and liquids, California was indeed present. 
 Salmon from the Sacramento, Bacon from Eussian Biver, 
 Green Turtle steak, a la California style ; Antelope from 
 the valley of the San Joaquin, Champagne, Sherry, Port 
 and other wines from the vinyards of Napa and Sonoma 
 valley. Among the ornamentations of the tables were 
 the "California Grizzly Bear," Atlantic and Pacific 
 Locomotive, with train of cars," " California Hunting 
 Scene," and here and there huge fruit baskets filled with 
 fruits from California, etc. 
 
 Amid the decorations that adorned the walls were 
 conspicuous mottoes, calculated to bring back to mind 
 old familiar scenes and long forgotten faces. Among 
 many of these were the following : 
 
12 
 
 MaBBBALZ/, 
 
 March, 
 1848. 
 
 Stevenson's Eegiment 
 
 OF 
 
 New Yobk Voltjnteees. 
 California, 1847. 
 
 U. S, Store Ships 
 Lexington, 
 Southampton, 
 Erie. 
 
 1817. 
 
 The Eaely Pionbees 
 
 OP 
 
 Caufoenia, 
 Stetenbon'b Regiment. 
 
 Co. M, 3d Artillery, 
 
 Capt. Eeyes, 
 
 2d Lt. H. G. Gibson. 
 
 Co. F, 3d Artillery. 
 
 IstLt. W. T. Sherman, 
 2d Lt. E. 0. 0. Oed, 
 
 Monterev, 1847. 
 
 
 The Hoen 
 
 ABOUND. 
 
 
 rtLOAT, 
 
 xtockton, 
 Uhubeick. 
 
 Old 49ees. 
 Steamers 
 
 1846. 
 
 The Exchanges of '49. 
 
 Ex, DOEADO, 
 
 Bella Union, 
 Paekee House. 
 
 Senator, 
 Capt. Suttee, 
 
 Natal Sqtjadkon, 
 
 Mint. 
 
 Pacitxc Coast, 1846. 
 
 Savannah, 
 Congress, 
 
 Sherman, 
 Halleck, 
 
 Levant, 
 
 Portsmouth, 
 
 Warren, 
 
 Cyane, 
 
 Dale. 
 
 The Tow-Paths 
 
 OP the 
 SACEAMENTO 
 
 AND 
 
 SAN JOAQUIN. 
 
 Oed. 
 1846. 
 
 
 
 
 
 MONTEEEY, 
 July 7, 9 A. M. 
 
 yeeba'buena. 
 
 July 9, 7 A. M. 
 
 9in OP Septembee, 
 1850. 
 
 BEAE FLAG MEN 
 OP 1846. 
 
 
 SONOMA, 
 July 9, 4 p. M. 
 
 The two Bobs, 
 SEMPLE 
 
 AND 
 
 PAEKEE. 
 
 The California 
 Expedition, 
 
 AioAiDE or Monteket, 
 1849. 
 
 1846-'47. 
 
 Thomas H. Perkins, 
 Su.san Drew, 
 
 Ex-President of Cali- 
 fornia Pioneers. 
 (Photograph.) 
 Hon. Phujp A. Eoach. 
 
 CouNTET Across 
 
 BY 
 
 Ox-TEAM Express. 
 
 Loo Choo, 
 Brntus, 
 Isabella, 
 Sweden. 
 
 Only a partial record of names of old Californians 
 present upon this occasion has been obtained. It was 
 
13 
 
 the intention to have recorded the names of all, but 
 other duties of the secretary prevented the so doing. 
 
 1833. 
 Jacob P. LeITse, 
 
 1846. 
 Wm. Collig-an, 
 *EoDmAN M. Peice, 
 
 1847. 
 (Stevenson's Eegiment,) 
 Lieut. J. Sheewood, 
 G. M. Leanaed, 
 Russell Myees, 
 Joseph Evans, 
 Feancis D. Claek, 
 Chas. J. McPheeson, 
 James E. Nuttman, 
 William H. Eogees, 
 William H. WiLLtiMS, 
 
 1849. 
 John Sickels, 
 William M. Walton, 
 EOBT. H. McKuNE, 
 Gen. H. Gates Gibson, 
 Feancis E. Pinto, 
 Olivee H. Piekson, 
 W. B. Faewell, 
 H. Baenaed, 
 Thos. McSpedon, 
 A.. J. McCall, 
 Geo. P. Loed, 
 Enoch Gove, 
 John Lambiee, 
 John Gault, 
 Charles Stone, 
 
 S. D. Jones, 
 S. L. Wilson, 
 Edwaed F. Burton, 
 M. J. Shandley, 
 N. F. Toombs, 
 M. B. Caepentee, 
 J. J. Hager. 
 
 1850. 
 Thos. D. Johns, 
 James F. Cuetis, 
 Geoege W. Stanton, 
 Beveely C. Sandees, 
 Geo. F. Sniffen, 
 S. L. Meechant, 
 W. H. Hampton, 
 Heney Feitz, 
 
 J. HiLBOEN, 
 
 B. S. Eaton, 
 M. Waed, 
 Chas. L. Weight. 
 
 1851. 
 
 J. W. SiMONTON, 
 
 Edwaed J. Quiek, 
 
 F. R. Baby, 
 
 C. E. Thompson, 
 
 G. W. GUTHEIE. 
 
 1852. 
 Com. C. K. Gaeeison, 
 j. be. butlee, 
 J. H. Meeeymann, 
 
 1853. 
 Col. Wm. G. Eankin, 
 
 *NoTE. — I'urser Price was with the naval squadron at Monterey, 
 June 7, 1846, when our flag was rasied— landed with the naval forcea, 
 and read the proclamation of Commodore Sloat, declaring the occupa- 
 tion of California by the United States. 
 
 He was appointed Alcalde and Prefect, and was the first to exercise 
 
14 
 
 The following named gentlemen had secured their 
 tickets, but the inclement state of the weather, a severe 
 storm prevailing on that evening, as also the diflficulties 
 experienced in crossing the rivers and other causes pre- 
 vented their presence. 
 
 Gen. Eufus Ingalls, U. S. A. ; C. S. Newcomb, 0. P. 
 Huntington, Eugene Kelly, General Joseph Hooker, 
 U. S. A.; J. Seligmann, "Wm. E. Garrison, Levi Parsons, 
 Edgar W. Crowell, Commodore John W. Livingston, 
 U. S. N. ; John S. Ellis, Aaron VanValkenburg and J. A. 
 Sperry. 
 
 At the conclusion of the dinner the Chairman, Gen. 
 Gibson, preliminary to the introduction of the regular 
 toasts, addressed the associates as follows : 
 
 Fellow Califoknians — 
 
 In assuming the duty which your kind partiality has 
 
 assigned me this evening, I feel that I am usurping the 
 
 place which more properly belongs to some older and 
 
 more distinctive Californian — to some one who amid 
 
 "disastrous chances ; 
 Of moving accidents by flood and field, 
 The hair-breadth 'scapes" 
 
 judicial functions under American rule on the Pacific. Chaplain Col. 
 ton was afterward associated with him. On the arrival of a special 
 messenger (Lieut. McKea of the navy) with the oflicial news that war 
 existed between the United States and Mexico, purser Price volun- 
 teered to carry the dispatch from Monterey, to Commodore Stockton 
 at Los Angeles, as it was deemed of the highest importance that Com- 
 modore Stockton should receive the news in the shortest time possible, 
 as Sloat had raised our flag and occupied the country, and Stockton had 
 carried on an active war, and subjugated it, without knowing that war 
 existed. 
 
 Mr. Price subsequently partic ipated in the battles and events of the 
 West Coast, was one of the Commissioners to settle the terms of occupa- 
 tion of Mazatlan, was with the Naval forces that landed at La Paz, 
 San Bias, and at the bombardment of Guymas. AtMazatlan, he was en- 
 trusted by Com Shubrick with verbal despatches, to General Scott, at 
 the City of Mexico, and to the President, to arrange for a joint attack 
 by the Armj' and Navy on Acapulco, which was a perilous duty. He 
 arrived in the City of Mexico, just after the treaty of peace had been 
 made at Guadalupe Hidalgo, and proceeded at once to Washington, 
 hurrying to reach there before the treaty was acted upon by our Senate. 
 From accidental delays he did not get there until the day after — the 
 steamer which carried him from Vera Cruz to New Orleans lying several 
 days aground. If he had arrived 48 hours sooner, probably with the 
 information he had, sustained by officers in the Pacific Squadron and in 
 Mexico, no treaty would have been ratified by the United States, that 
 did not give to us all Mexico. He was in a few months after gold was 
 
15 
 
 and trying vicissitudes of early California days, assisted 
 in founding a great State on the far distant shores of the 
 Pacific. But I have come here to-night, not only as a 
 member of the Society of California Pioneers of the class 
 of 1849, but also as a representative of that regiment of 
 the American Army, which first occupied the territory 
 of the Californias in 1847, and whose record has since 
 been closely associated with their history, down to the 
 termination of the great civil war. It was a portion of 
 this regiment which formed, with the gallant sons of the 
 Empire State, under Colonel Stevenson, the pioneer 
 expedition to that then unknown and unexplored region, 
 and it was an officer of the Third Artillery who first 
 brought to the east the oflicial intelligence of the dis- 
 covery of gold, thus heralding to the world the remark- 
 able fact that the glittering ore — for which the Spaniard 
 " long had sought and found it not " through centuries 
 marked with violence, treachery and cruelty — had fallen 
 at once into the lap of the hardy, peaceful American 
 pioneer ; at whose touch, like that of Midas, the soil of 
 California had turned to gold ; her streams and 
 
 ' ' sunny fountains, 
 EoUed down their golden sands," 
 
 discovered ordered by the Navy Department to return to California as 
 Navy Agent of the Pacific Coast, with large and extraordinary powers 
 to draw Bills on Washington to an unlimited amount, against all gold 
 or silver bullion or coin delivered on board our Naval vessels in Cali- 
 fornia and all Ports of Mexico, Central America and South American 
 States, at liberal rates of exchange, through a system of agencies to be 
 arranged by Mr. Price — on whose suggestion the plan was based, with 
 the object of benefiting the foreign credit of the United States, thus con- 
 trolling a large amount of bullion, superseding London and makirg 
 New York the financial centre and the seat of exchange for the world. 
 
 It was on this important mission returning to San Francisco, Mr. 
 Price was a passenger from Panama on the steamship California, the 
 Pioneer Steamer of the Pacific Mail Steam Ship Company, which ar- 
 rived in San Francisco February 28th, 1849. 
 
 He was elected a Member of the Ayuntamiento, or first Town Council 
 of Sau Francisco, was a Member of the Convention that framed the 
 Constitution for the State of California, and received the regular 
 Democratic Nomination for Congress, at the first election, and was 
 defeated bv the Hon. Edward Gilbert, by a few votes. He built the 
 first building for a Post OflSice, and in 1857, owned more houses in San 
 Francisco than any other person, and contributed largely to the early 
 improvement of the City, and the building of wharves for its com- 
 mercial facilities, and was noted for his liberality toward charitable 
 objects. On his return to his native State, New Jersey, in 1850, he was 
 eiected to Congress— in less than a year after he was defeated in Cali- 
 fornia — subsequently he was elected Crovernor of bis State. 
 
16 
 
 and her mountains, hills and valleys opened up their 
 choicest treasures. 
 
 Though far away to-night from the land that we love — 
 the land of the vine and the olive— of the mighty forest 
 and the teeming soil ; with a climate as genial as any 
 
 '•That e'er the sun shone on,'' 
 
 though widely separated from her we still cling to her 
 with fond affection, and know that she still claims us as 
 her own, recognizing no decree of divorce, no doctrine 
 of expatriation. 
 
 Let us then, as we gather around the festive board to- 
 night, recall the pleasant memories of our sojourn in 
 California, that beautiful land -which 
 
 "Opes to the sunset her gateway of gold," 
 
 and pours into the coffers of the world more than " the 
 gold of Ophir " — more than " the wealth of Ormuz or of 
 Ind ;" and, better still, has enriched the earth with a 
 large measure of the golden virtues of charity, generosity 
 and clannish fidelity, the essence of the golden rule. 
 
 " The President of the United States." 
 Music — " Hail Columbia." 
 
 Response by Col. Jacob P. Leese : 
 
 Col. Jacob P. Leese arose to respond amid prolonged 
 shouts of applause, he being the oldest pioneer present, 
 having landed at San Francisco in 1833, and having 
 married a sister of Gen. M. Vallejo, might truly be 
 regarded as a territorial pioneer, having lived in Cali- 
 fornia both under Mexican and American rule. Col. 
 Leese referred to the fact • that the President of the 
 United States was one of us, having been a resident of 
 California in its early days — that the services of Gen. 
 Grant, during the late civil war, had been appreciated 
 by his countrymen, and that setting aside all feelings of 
 a political nature, his presence here to-night, as an old 
 
17 
 
 Califoinian, would be warmly welcomed. The Colonel 
 spoke warmly of California, and of the happy days he 
 had passed in her genial clime, and that he hoped soon 
 to return to the Pacific coast. 
 
 " The Army and Navy." 
 
 Music — " Life on the Ocean Wave." 
 
 Eesponse by Ex-Gov. Eodman M. Peice of New Jersey, 
 who spoke as follows : 
 
 Mr. Pbesident and Gentlemen — 
 
 In rising on this delightful occasion, the re-union of 
 so many old Californians at this sumptuous banquet in 
 this great city on the Atlantic, after a lapse of so many 
 years, my mind is filled with past reminiscences. The 
 presence of the men who surround me, the decorations 
 of this room, commemorate and awaken such stirring 
 recollections of the early American ' military occupation 
 ~^ California, and its subsequent acquisition and marvel- 
 ous growth, so overwhelm me with circumstances and 
 exciting incidents, that I find it difficult to say what 
 should be said in honor of the toast to which you call 
 upon me to respond. Indeed I feel like getting off by 
 playing the dodge that the distinguished comedian 
 Barney Williams sometimes does when similarly situated, 
 by singing a song, or by telling the story of his country- 
 man who was thrown violently from his horse. Upon 
 being assisted by a fellow countryman, he was asked 
 whether he was dead. " No, not dead but spachless" was 
 ^the reply. 
 
 At any rate I am so full of clinging memories that, 
 like the crowded meeting house, I shall be very slow in 
 emptying myself, reviving as I do associations of a quarter 
 century ago, and reflecting that the important acquisi- 
 tion of California to the United States, and the influence 
 it has shed upon the world, is the result of the war made 
 upon us by Mexico. The victories obtained by our Army 
 and Navy, conquered peace, and acquired the territory 
 
18 
 
 won by their brilliant achievements, unequalled in the 
 annals of war. But for their joint co-operation — their 
 services — their victories — California would not probably 
 have ever been ours ; they not only gave us California 
 but have furnished the proudest and most illustrious 
 pages of our nation's history. I need say no more to the 
 sentiment — I could enumerate deeds of gallantry and 
 daring by individual officers and men of both branches 
 of the service, but it might seem invidious where so much 
 gallantry was displayed. Need I point to the renowned 
 victories of Palo Alto, Eesaca de la Palma, Monterey 
 and Buena Vista, where the American volunteer soldiers, 
 under the noble General Zachary Taylor, bore down and 
 turned back in dismay the well organized legions, five 
 times their number, under Santa Anna, a victory that 
 made the commanding general the next President of the 
 United States. But I must turn to the great and herculean 
 military undertaking of great Captain Winfield Scott, his 
 march from Vera Cruz to the city of Mexico, without 
 defeat ; the joint victory of the army and navy at Vera 
 Cruz, and the victories of our gallant army at Cerro 
 Gordo, Cherubusco, Molina del Key and Chapultepec, and 
 the conquest of Mexico — work done in six months which 
 foreign military critics of high authority said could not 
 be done in six years, and with ten times the 15,000 men 
 composing the irresistable army of the great and im- 
 mortal soldier Scott. 
 
 Just thirty years ago I sailed in the U. S. Sloop of 
 "War Cyane from Norfolk, under orders to join the Pacific 
 Squadron. At that time the annexation of Texas and 
 the Oregon boundary were disturbing political elements, 
 and President Polk feared war might grow out of those 
 questions. The importance of extending our possessions 
 on the Pacific Ocean, with the view of commanding the 
 China and India trade, was a policy fully approved by 
 the people. 
 
 It was nearly twelve months before the Cyane joined 
 the squadron at Mazatlan, then commanded by Com. J. 
 D. Sloat. "We also found at Mazatlan a large English 
 squadron, commanded by Admiral Sir George Seymour, 
 
19 
 
 both squadrons anxiously waiting news of the appre- 
 hended collision of the American and Mexican forces on 
 the Eio Grande, both commanders having instructions, 
 as subsequent events proved, and which was believed at 
 the time, to take possession of Upper California, as soon 
 as war was known to exist between the two countries. 
 A few days after our arrival Lieut. Gillespie of the 
 United States Marine Corps arrived, having crossed 
 Mexico with verbal despatches from the Navy Depart- 
 ment to Commodore Sloat and Captain Fremont, who 
 was supposed to be in California with his exploring party. 
 The Cyane was ordered to carry him to Monterey, Cali- 
 fornia, and to communicate with our consul, Thomas 
 O. Larkin, who was fully advised by the President of his 
 desire to acquire California. To deceive the English 
 Admiral the Cyane was ordered to the Sandwich Islands 
 first, and then to Monterey, where she arrived in 
 March, 1846. 
 
 We found that Fremont had recently been in with his 
 party near Monterey, but was refused supplies and 
 forcibly driven out of California. Lieut. Gillespie 
 landed and went in pursuit of Fremont and the Cyane 
 returned to Mazatlan, where the two squadrons were 
 still watching and waiting, with the most jealous 
 observation of each other. Again we were despatched 
 with the mail for the Sandwich Islands, but this time we 
 made direct for Monterey, where we found the sloops of 
 war Warren and Levant, and heard that the Portsmouth 
 was at SanFrancisco. We were followed in a few days 
 by the flag ship Savannah, Com. Sloat having played 
 Admiral Seymour and gave him the slip. He was without 
 any information of any actual hostilities having occurred 
 between the forces of the United States and Mexico. 
 There were rumors of battles on the Eio Grande, which 
 came through Indian sources, and which subsequently, 
 strange to say proved true, both as to the forces engaged 
 and the results of the battles. On the 7th day of July 
 Commodore Sloat landed his forces, hoisted the Stars 
 and Stripes, and by proclamation declared the military 
 occupation and protection to all of Upper California by 
 
20 
 
 the United States. The Eaglish Admiral came only to 
 find the game bagged by Sloat, who, by his timely action, 
 secured California to us without a fight with the English 
 sqnadron. 
 
 Com. Sloat was soon releived of his command by the 
 arrival of Com. Stockton, with the Frigate Congress. 
 He carried on an active war, and with the aid of a battal- 
 lion of early pioneers, raised by Fremont, soon conquered 
 all California, which was done (to the great credit of 
 Sloat and Stockton) before any reliable or official news 
 was known that war existed. This I know, the official 
 news of the existence of war came by Lieut. McEae, of 
 the navy, a special messenger from Washington to Mon- 
 terey, and I carried it from there to Los Angeles, and 
 delivered it to Commodore Stockton. The squadron 
 was distributed to the Southern Mexican ports, but 
 before the Commodore left San Francisco the news came 
 to him that the Californians had risen and retaken Los 
 Angeles, the squadron was again concentrated at San 
 Diego, where Stockton organized a sailor battallion and 
 marched upon Los Angeles, while after defeating the 
 enemy at San Gabriel and the Mesa, retook it, and 
 pacified the country. About this time relief began to 
 arrive and most opportunely, for the navy had not force 
 enough to garrison and protect the seaports without 
 going into the interior. 
 
 General Stephen Kearny came with the remnant of 
 three companies of dragoons, his command having been 
 badly cut up at San Pasqual. A company of artillery 
 arrived at San Francisco in February, 1847, and Col. 
 Stevenson's New York Eegiment of Volunteers in March. 
 The influence of this regiment upon California was very 
 marked and gave direction to the political affairs, in 
 organizing municipal and state governments and the 
 various and numerous enterprises in its rapid develope- 
 ment, and many of its members are still numbered 
 among its most influential citizens. These troops 
 relieved the sailors from shore duty and set the squadron 
 free to operate on the lower coast of Mexico by blockade, 
 and as they subsequently did, take and occupy all Lower 
 
21 
 
 California as well as tHe ports and cities of Guymas, San 
 Bias and Mazatlan. Then came the news of the succes- 
 sive victories of Taylor and Scott, the occupation of the 
 City of Mexico ; then the treaty of peace and the acqui- 
 sition of Mexican territory north of 32° 30', and the 
 Pacific coast from that degree of latitude to our Oregon 
 boundary. Scarcely was the treaty concluded when gold 
 was discovered. The next great event was the arrival of 
 the Pacific Mail Steamers. The rush of immigration, 
 the formation of a city government for San Francisco, 
 the call for a convention to frame a state constitution, 
 the organization of a state government, the election of 
 state officers and representatives to Congress. The rapid 
 commercial and agricultural developement of the Golden 
 State — the intense excitement we passed through in 
 1849 and 1850 is indellibly impressed upon the minds 
 of all of us, unexampled in the previous history of the 
 world : 
 
 " We heard the tramp of pioneers. 
 Of nations yet to be ; 
 The first low wash of waves, where soon 
 There rolled a human sea." 
 
 I have wandered from the sentiment of the toast, " our 
 glorious Army and Navy." The realization of the great 
 change that has been wrought on the face of California 
 since I first saw it in 1846, what it was, and what it is, 
 wild and uninhabited, its soil considered barren and 
 sterile contrasted with its present opulent condition, 
 teeming with population and wealth, now the richest 
 mineral and agricultural State of the Union, and to know 
 that our table here is loaded with the prodiictions of 
 that State, wines, fruits, meats and fish ; to reflect upon 
 its commercial importance, to know that it has given 
 more than $50,000,000 a year in the precious metals since 
 its acquisition, and that its acquisition has proved the 
 key to open so much national wealth, passes all the 
 marvels of history. It is estimated that its yield of 
 wheat the past year will be 24,000,000 bushels, while 
 the State of California has been supplying Europe with 
 breadstuffs many years. That she now has a popula- 
 
22 
 
 tion of nearly a million, that the city of San Fran- 
 cisco has a population of 230,000 is magically fabulous ; 
 verily, tniih is stranger than fiction. Eureka — progress, 
 acquisition, expansion is the great idea of the American 
 ijnion, the more vast the interest included in its cot- 
 fines the greater the certainty of its endurance, every 
 new admission to the common bond is a new security 
 for its preservation. 
 
 We know what our progress has been for the past fifty 
 years, and who can doubt that our progress, and the 
 world's progress, will not be greater in the future than 
 in the past, genius, science, invention and discovery will 
 not stop. An enlightened education which has spread 
 out among 'the people like the light of day, in our 
 generation ; must shed its influence upon the future 
 civiliziition. Progress and advancement in every 
 material thing will be in the exact proportion of 
 educated and enlightened brains — if this proposition is 
 true, progress in all things is to be greatly accelerated, 
 steam, electricity, magnetism, mechanical arts, and 
 telegraphy and photography, have not reached their 
 full power of arrangement, application or usefulness. 
 The locomotive and train, (so beautifully represented 
 by that piece of confection on the table to remind us 
 that we have a continuous rail from the Atlantic to the 
 Pacific) have not reached their highest speed or their 
 greatest economy and safety. This is a wonderful re- 
 flection to us old Californian men, who have seen and 
 contributed so much in the past. Space it would seem 
 has been annihilated, but it is to be double annihilated. 
 We have just cause to congratulate ourselves that so 
 many of us survive to renew the friendships to day 
 formed during the eventful scenes of the early days of 
 California. We have here, the gentleman on my right, 
 (J. P. Leese,) the father of the first child born on the 
 site of the city of San Francisco, and built the first house 
 •there. We have here on my left a gentleman (Com. 
 C. K. Garrison), one of the first mayors of San Francisco, 
 and I am glad to say found " there was millions in it." 
 It is pleasant to know that we can mingle our congratula- 
 
23 
 
 tions upon the happiness and prosperity of the people, 
 and the rapid advancement of the nation, and that but 
 for the united prowess of the army and navy, the rivers 
 would still roll undisturbed over their golden beds, an<i 
 the mountains and soil still conceal their treasure. 
 
 The next regular toast was " The early pioneers of 
 California." Under their hands the wilderness came to 
 " bud and blossom as the rose." They found it a soli- 
 tude, they made it a populous and prosperous empire. 
 
 Music—" Military March." 
 
 This was responded to by Gen. Thomas D. Johns, who 
 said : 
 
 Mr. Peesident and Gentlemen — 
 
 It is becoming that we pause for a moment in the 
 midst of our festivities to recall to memory the early 
 pioneers of California. I see about me a number of 
 those representative veterans, not only my seniors in 
 years but in California citizenship, and trust that we may 
 hear a few words from those who were pioneers before 
 gold was discovered. In attempting to speak to you, 
 even briefly, on the theme you have given me, I expe- 
 rience an unaffected embarrassment, and I am sure that 
 both you and I will regret that some person better fitted 
 than myself had not been called upon to respond to a 
 sentiment so worthy and "so capable of elaboration, a 
 sentiment that carries our thoughts back through so many 
 eventful years to the scenes and incidents of early Cali 
 fornia life, a history of the severe trials, indomitable 
 energy, unflagging endurance and unflattering hope of 
 those people who were the advance guard of a more 
 enlightened civilization on the Pacific coast. Following 
 in their path came an industrious husbandry, a prosper- 
 ous commerce, and, not the least, an intelligent, stalwart 
 labor, that upheaved the mountain, turned the water 
 
24 
 
 courses, built cities and towns, and made the once waste 
 places contribute to the advancement, comfort and luxury 
 of man. 
 
 More-than fifty years ago the Anglo-Saxon race com- 
 menced locating their homes in California, Americans 
 perhaps, forming a majority of the immigrants. Some 
 were attracted by the fine climate and fruitful soil, many 
 by the fisheries and fur-trade, and others were moved by 
 the spirit of adventure and discovery. Whatever may 
 have taken our early pioneers to that distant land, it was 
 no light undertaking, for it requu'ed brave hearts, physi- 
 cal endurance and a firm self-reliance ; and such had 
 the men of whom we speak more particularly to-night. 
 During the earlier days, the whale and trading ships 
 contributed from their company a large number of noted 
 pioneers. Many a sturdy emigrant left the western 
 frontier with his family and household goods, and with a 
 courage, not excelled by more modern explorers, made 
 their long and weary march over mountains, rivers and 
 plains, enduring all the toil and privation incident to a 
 journey through a hostile and unknown wilderness to 
 reach at last their long sought home. The joy and 
 gratitude of the semi-barbaric chieftain, who, four 
 hundred years ago, from the summit of the Panama 
 Isthmus first beheld the placid waters of our western 
 sea, were not equalled by those of our weary emigrant, 
 who from the towering crests of the Sierra Nevadas, 
 looked down on the blooming valley of the Sacramento, 
 and surveyed in the dim distance the vast expanse of 
 the Pacific Ocean. 
 
 These early pioneers were . distributed throughout 
 the length and breadth of California — simple in their 
 habits, liberal in their opinions, generous and hospitable, 
 they were a powerful influence in the community, and 
 after that country passed under the flag of our govern- 
 ment, they continued to occupy prominent positions. 
 Some of us later pioneers are indebted to them for 
 many kind services, and will ever regard them with 
 honor and esteem. Allow me, Mr. President, in closing, 
 to offer this sentiment : As long as the giant Sierras cast 
 
25 
 
 their shadows on the foot-hills ^as long as the swelling 
 waters of the Pacific wash the portals of the Golden 
 Gate, may the early pioneers of California be held in 
 pleasant and grateful remembrance. 
 
 The fourth regular toast was " Gen. John A. Sutter, 
 the pioneer and philanthropist, whose name and fame 
 we delight to honor; associated with that of James 
 Marshall, the instrument through whom he gave the 
 discovery of gold in California to the world." 
 
 Music—" Hail to the chief." 
 
 This toast was responded to by Willaed B. Fakwell, 
 who said — 
 
 I remember, when I was a boy, Mr. Chairman and 
 Gentlemen, although it was not then the days of illus- 
 trated literature to the extent that it is now, I had a 
 very entertaining book of stories of discovery and 
 adventure, in reading which I passed many happy and 
 instructive hours. I remember that among the stories 
 which it contained, there was one about the discovery of 
 the famous silver, mines of Potosi. There was a picture 
 at the head of the page representing a poor Peon, who, 
 while wandering in the mountains in search of lost 
 animals of the flock which had been entrusted to his 
 care, or upon some such errand, had missed his footing 
 and fallen over the brink of a precipice. Fortunately, 
 both for him and the world at large, as he fell, he caught 
 at a shrub that grew upon the brink, and succeeded in 
 regaining his footing and saving himself from being 
 dashed to pieces in the ravine below. In his fall, how- 
 ever, the shrub had been partially uprooted, and, on 
 recovering himself, our poor Peon discovered beneath 
 and among the roots certain shining nuggets which 
 attracted his curiosity and wonder, and which he took to 
 the neighboring town for others to examine and wonder 
 at. This, as I remember it, perhaps not accurately 
 related, but in the main correct, proved to be the first 
 
26 
 
 discovery of the immense silver deposits of South Ame- 
 rica. I remember, as I grew older, I read further and 
 learned how vastly important was this discovery to the 
 world at large. How the mother country, Spain, drew 
 from the enormous mineral deposits subsequently deve- 
 loped out of this accident to the poor obscure Peon, 
 that boundless wealth of precious metal which changed 
 the entire commercial intercourse and relations of the 
 world. How her fleets set sail, year by year, from the 
 Spanish main, laden down with ingots of silver, valuable 
 almost beyond compute. How she waged her terrible 
 wars through the wealth thus acquired and sought to be 
 mistress of the world ; how the fleets of her adversaries 
 sought to intercept these treasure laden 'galleons from 
 year to year, and how, even upon one occasion they 
 drove some scores of these Spanish treasure ships into 
 the harbor of Vigo and sunk them at their moorings, 
 carrying down with them some hundred millions or so of 
 solid bullion, as one small fraction of the harvest of 
 wealth that had grown out of this trifling incident of the 
 poor Peon and his mountain adventure. 
 
 I remember, as I grew older still, how I read in the 
 newspapers of the day the story of an adventurous Swiss, 
 who had wandered to the remote and comparatively 
 unknown regions of the far, far west, to the margin of 
 the Pacific, and there set himself to work to introduce 
 civilization and cultitre among the wild tribes of Cali- 
 fornia, and be their mentor and their protector. I 
 remember that the story went- — and indeed became the 
 wonder of the day — that an employee, M'hom he had set 
 at work to dig a canal to bring water to a mill which he 
 was about to erect, in which to grind the grain with 
 which his fertile fields were already teeming, had, like 
 the poor peon of Potosi, discovered certain shining par- 
 ticles in the sand, which he brought to the master, and 
 which proved to be gold. The master was Gen. John A. 
 Sutter, the man, James Marshall. I remember how I, 
 in common with many others here, in the sound of my 
 voice to-night, filled with the marvellous tale which was 
 borne to us then, and moved by the spirit of adventure 
 
27 
 
 and excitement, which is incident to youth, set sail for 
 the shores of the golden land thus opened to the world 
 by this little event. I remember how, in due course of 
 time, I stood at the gateway of Sutter's Fort, as it was 
 then called, upon the margin of the Eio de los Ameri- 
 canos, and how, in common with my fellow voyagers, 
 we were met by the hospitable welcome of the then 
 courtly gentleman and benefactor, who had given this 
 great discovery to the world, and how it thrilled me to 
 the heart as I took his generous hand, and realized how 
 vast was the mission which he seemed to have been 
 singled out to perform. 
 
 You and I, Mr. Chairman, and all of us here, have 
 since realized the marvellous effects -which this singular 
 discovery had upon the world at large ; and so, indeed, 
 has all the world realized it to the remotest confines of 
 civilization, and even to barbarian lands. "We have seen 
 enacted over again, even on a still more gigantic scale, 
 the story of the poor Peon of Potosi and all its conse- 
 quences. We have lived to realize an entire change of 
 values, a new system of commercial exchanges, have 
 seen new financial centers develope themselves, and 
 learned to talk of millions as glibly as our fathers once 
 discussed their thousands. The parallel between the 
 South American discoveries and these of California, 
 except in so far as the superior magnitude and import- 
 ance of the latter over the former is concerned, only 
 ceases when we realize the fact that, as a nation, we 
 have held our enormous wealth, acquired through the 
 work of these two men and benefactors, in peace and 
 quiet, with "none to molest or make us afraid." 
 
 Neither time nor the occasion will permit me to follow 
 in detail the effect that this wonderful discovery has had 
 upon our country or the world ; but realizing as we all 
 do how vast are the benefits which we have experienced, 
 it becomes us to pause and inquire whether the service 
 thus performed by General Sutter and Marshall has 
 been justly recognized and requited either by California 
 or by the nation. I am the last one who would, by the 
 smallest word or intimation, cast one reflection upon the 
 
28 
 
 generosity of California or Californians in an individual, 
 or in a representative legislative capacity ; but I am 
 free to say that, in my judgment California has failed to 
 fulfil her entire duty towards this venerable old man, 
 even with the provision which she has made for him, and 
 which will probably carry him through life. For from 
 whatever stand point we view the character and labors 
 of Gen. Sutter, whether as the discoverer of gold in Cali- 
 fornia, or as the benefactor and philanthropist, in which 
 latter capacity he is so familiar to you all, we cannot 
 fail to be impressed by the fact that no ordinary reward 
 can be adequate compensation for the benefits which he 
 conferred upon California, our country, and all mankind. 
 If it be said that he was but the instrument in the hands 
 of Providence in doing this work, then so much the 
 greater reason that we should recognize it as such, and 
 be generous in the reward, even as the patriarchs of old 
 gave their offerings to God in token of their recognition 
 of Divine grace and goodness. 
 
 If it be said that it was the result of accident, growing 
 out of the adventurous spirit of a wandering Swiss, 
 then the laws of custom among men in all civilized 
 communities demand that which attaches to discovery 
 both by reward of fame and fortune, even as immortal 
 fame was earned by the discoverer of the laws of gravi- 
 tation, through the accident of the apple falling to the 
 ground, and the train of thought which that simple inci- 
 dent evoked. I say then, and I say it in sorrow, that 
 this venerable man and philanthropist has not been dealt 
 justly by, and has not received the reward and recogni- 
 tion either from California or the nation to which the 
 great service which he has rendered has fairly entitled 
 him. And it humiliates and shames me, in common 
 with all of you, I have no doubt, to see him waiting and 
 hoping for the tardy justice that lingers and dallies and 
 will not come to his relief. If we can utter one word 
 here to-night, or perform one act, however trifling in its 
 character, that will contribute in any degree however 
 slight, towards arousing public sentiment to action in 
 his behalf, I shall rejoice with you all, although I am 
 
29 
 
 only too well aware that upon a merely social occasion 
 like this we can do little more than give expression to 
 our sympathy and respect for the man, and utter our 
 protest against the delay that has intervened between 
 him and a just recognition of his work. 
 
 Be assured, gentlemen, that the day will come when 
 the inestimable services which General Sutter has per- 
 formed for his fellow men will be appreciated as they 
 have never yet been by California or the nation. " The 
 good that men do lives after them." And to this oft 
 repeated axiom might well be added the words that 
 "good" is seldom justly appreciated by those who are 
 contemporaneous with them. Not until the public bene- 
 factor, the hero, the philosopher, or the discoverer has 
 passed away, and new generations of men have come 
 upon the stage of human action ; not until time has 
 ripened the story of their virtues and their deeds, and the 
 record of their lives has been inscribed upon the pages 
 of history does the good that men do stand out before 
 the world in its true proportions. And so will it be with 
 Sutter. The world may fail to-day in the measure of 
 generous recognition which his life and his deeds have 
 earned, but posterity will not do so. Posterity will 
 perpetuate his name as the synonym of philanthropy 
 and the type of heroism. It will bear grateful testimony 
 to the good which he conferred upon mankind by philan- 
 tropy which never knew a limit to its scope, so long as 
 it was his to do and his to give, as well as to his fame as 
 the discoverer of gold in California. 
 
 So long as the rivers shall flow down from the Sierras 
 to the sea, so long will the name of Sutter haunt with 
 pleasant memories the fertile valleys which they water 
 and adorn. The glory of his fame shall be as lasting as 
 the eternal hills which opened their golden bosoms at 
 his bidding, and gave their boundless wealth to enrich 
 and fructify the world, and the speedier developement 
 of human progress. 
 
 Permit me, however, before sitting down, to remind 
 you that there is yet another name among the early 
 pioneers of California, which it is our pleasure and our 
 
30 
 
 duty to remember, aod which I am sure you hold in 
 common with all the world in the highest esteem and 
 honor. I give you, gentlemen, the health and prosperity 
 of James Lick ; may he live to realize the magnitude of 
 the benefits which he has conferred upon mankind by 
 his splendid and wise benefactions. 
 
 " Stevenson's Eegiment — New York's earliest and 
 noblest contribution toward the developement and civili- 
 zation of the garden of the far west." 
 
 Music—" Eally Bound the Flag." 
 
 Col. James M. Tukner responded for the regiment 
 saying, 
 
 Mr. Chairman — 
 
 In consequence of the sudden illness of Lieut. 
 Jeremiah Sherwood, a gentleman fully competent to 
 answer for his old comrades, I have unexpectedly been 
 called upon to fill his place. It was not my good 
 fortune to have been one of those who served with the 
 regiment in California, having been detailed by the 
 Secretary of War to recruit for the regiment after my 
 return from the fleet at Rio de Janeiro as bearer of 
 despatches. 
 
 In California, the men who composed this regiment of 
 youths from the Empire State, are a part of its history, 
 they are at this time among her legislators, judges, 
 capitalists, county officers, merchants and wealthy 
 citizens, many alas are poor, as indeed are many of the 
 early pioneers of '49 and '60. 
 
 During the term of service of the regiment on the 
 Pacific coast the various companies composing it were 
 stationed at San Francisco, Sonoma, Monterey, Santa 
 Barbara, Los Angelos and San Diego, in Upper Cali- 
 fornia, and at La Paz and San Jose, in Lower California 
 and in no instance did they fail to render their duty 
 faithfully ; and the official records of the war department 
 speak volumes for the two companies (A and B,) who 
 withstood a seige of thirty days at La Paz. 
 
81 
 
 This regiment has contributed three of its members to 
 the House of Representatives at Washington, Edward 
 Gilbert and Sherman O. Houghton, as representatives 
 from California, and Captain (now Gen.) Nelson Taylor, 
 as representative for this city ; for many years Preston 
 K. Woodside of Co. D, was clerk of the Supreme Court 
 of California. 
 
 Of the old regiment there are now living some t^vo 
 hundred, for the most part citizens of California. Col. 
 Jonathan D. Stevenson is the United States Shipping 
 Commissioner at San Francisco, Major James A. 
 Hardie is now a Major General and Inspector General 
 of the TJ. S. Army ; Surgeon Perry is a physician and 
 wealthy resident of this city ; Captains Steele, Naglee, 
 Taylor, Frisbie and Lippitt are all prominent and wealthy 
 men, and the four latter were generals in the late war, 
 and to speak of the positions now occupied by many of 
 the former men in the ranks would take up too much of 
 our limited time ; a number of them are sitting at this 
 festive board, wearing the badge 1847, true representa- 
 tives of their absent, but ever in remembrance, com- 
 rades ; no language of mine can add to their honor, their 
 history as citizens of the Golden State is recorded in 
 her archives. 
 
 The sixth regular toast was " The State of California." 
 It was responded to by Mr. Francis D. Clakk, who 
 said : 
 
 Mr. Chaieman, Gentlemen, Pioneees — 
 
 I rise to respond for the State of California, with no 
 little hesitation. It is a subject to which my power 
 of language can in no wise do full justice. As is well 
 known to many here present, I'am'a great lover of the 
 Golden State, an admiration that nothing can ever dim, 
 and yet there are many here to-night more competent 
 than myself to depict her great glory, wealth and future. 
 California is as ,it were but an infant in comparison to 
 
32 
 
 what she must become ere the close of another quarter 
 of a century. 
 
 In apeaking of California I shall not confine myself to 
 those early days when, on landing from a ship, the yawl 
 or cutter grated the beach at what is now the center of 
 Montgomery street ; the time you embarked upon a 
 small schooner or launch, en route for the mines via 
 Sacramento City or Stockton, sleeping on the deck, pro- 
 viding your own subsistence, and paying therefor the 
 moderate sum of thirty dollars passage, and upon the 
 craft reaching a bend of the river, where a head-wind 
 and swift current defied further progress until you 
 cheerily sprang ashore and tramped away, halyards in 
 hand on the tow-path of the Sacramento or San Joaquin, 
 nor to the time of your arrival at either point of destina- 
 tion, stepping ashore and accosting some passer by to 
 learn how far, or at least the distance you were from 
 " the nearest diggins," and your look of blank amaze- 
 ment when informed that at best seventy-five miles 
 must be traversed before you could expect to sit by the 
 river side with your wash -pan on your knee, nor to the 
 expression of your countenance when informed that only 
 two dollars per pound freight would be charged by the 
 teamsters on your little store of dry-goods, with the 
 privilege of walking before, behind or alongside of the 
 wagon, without additional charge. Those times and 
 scenes are too familiar to you all to need a recurrence to 
 them by myself. In speaking of California I shall con- 
 fine myself to the years 1873 and '74, not of '49, nor of 
 the period when I landed on her soil a soldier in the 
 regiment of youths, commanded by the good and 
 respected Col. Jonathan D. Stevenson. 
 
 Scarce a quarter of a century has elapsed since Cali- 
 fornia took her place in the grand constellation of states 
 and yet her progress has been of such a character that 
 soon she must rank a^s one of the grandest States of the 
 Union. At the date of her admission she contained a 
 population of only 92,000, since which time there has 
 been a gain equal to seven hundred per cent., and she 
 possesses within her own domain every element of 
 
growth, wealth and prosperity. Who of us, in those 
 early days saw a mile of railroad, or heard the shrill 
 whistle of the locomotive ? and yet we find that in 1873, 
 the Central Pacific Railroad Company had under their 
 control 1,219 miles of railway, and within the State there 
 were 1,158^ miles, while in 1874 an additional 115^ miles 
 were constructed in various parts of the State, and the 
 arrivals by the overland route in 1874, amounted to 
 21,463 first-class, and 36,744 emigrant passengers, the 
 latter, without doubt, the most valuable to the State. 
 In the State the banking capital amounts to $140,000,000, 
 an increase of $40,000,000 over 1873, and as an evidence 
 of the industry and foresight of her people, we find that 
 57,081 depositors held in the saving banks the sum of 
 $51,579,997, and during the past year 2,000 buildings 
 were erected in that city, and all find ready tenants. In 
 the early days the opportunities for eductttion were few, 
 now we find in her public schools 107,303 pupils, with 
 another 10,000 children in schools of a private character. 
 Let me turn for a moment to the mineral, agricultural, 
 and other products of the State, the amount of her pro- 
 duct of gold and silver for 1874 was $85,000,000 (the 
 neighboring State of Nevada producing in silver over 
 $35,000,000 during the same period), and it is estimated 
 that the total product of gold from the mines of Califor- 
 nia, from '49 to '74, was fifteen hundred million dollars. 
 In the early days of the State nearly every article of 
 comfort, subsistance and luxury were imported ; now we 
 find she can supply her own requirements and contribute 
 largely to the wants of neighboring Republics and 
 Empires, and thousands of tons of her wheat finds its 
 way into the European markets. It is estimated that in 
 the present year the product of wheat will reach twelve 
 hundred thousand tons, while that of barley, her next 
 grain crop in importance, will be three hundred thousand 
 tons. These two crops will be the product of 3,674,900 
 acres. The wool crop of 1874 was 40,000,000 pounds, 
 and the vintage of wine was 7,000,000 gallons, the total 
 value of all agricultural products for that year was 
 $41,000,000. The fruit crops of California must also be 
 
34 
 
 valuable and prolific, for we find that of fruit bearing 
 trees she has 1,500,000 apple, 500,000 pear, 200,000 
 cherry, 100,000 apricot, 50,000 quince, 60,000 prune, 
 15,000 olive, and 75,000 orange trees, and between 
 30,000,000 and 40,000,000 grape bearing vines. 
 
 I well remember, upon my return from California to 
 this city, in 1855, that my accounts of the big trees and 
 other wonders were listened to with an air of distrust, 
 California stories were considered exaggerations, and 
 there are no doubt those at this date who doubt much 
 they hear and read regarding that wonderful clime, what 
 would they say to such a farm as that of Mr. Jesse D. 
 Carr, of Salinas, containing 50,000 acres sown in wheat, 
 and in Stanislaus county wheat fields of 5,000 and 6,000 
 acres are quite common, and there are those that run up 
 into the tens of thousand acres. 
 
 Speaking of farms, I will, with your permission, relate 
 a story I heard some years ago of a farm in the northern 
 counties that contained a farm-house and stables at each 
 end, and a half-way house in the center, the gang plows 
 started from one- end in the morning, reached the center 
 house for dinner, and the farthermost house at evening, 
 having made but one furough during the day, biit that 
 one was eighteen miles long. This may or may not be 
 true, you have it as I heard it only. 
 
 Speaking of the mineral production of California, we 
 find that among her resources are gold, silver, lead, iron, 
 coal, copper, tin and quicksilver, and of the latter Cali- 
 fornia provides one-third of the total product of the 
 world. Among the exports of the Golden State are gold, 
 silver, wheat, barley, tobacco, cotton, hops, hemp, honey, 
 wine and fruit, and of the two latter we have samples 
 now before us. 
 
 California has the largest trees, the largest sailing 
 ship, the largest hearted men and women, and soon -n ill 
 have the largest hotel in the world, and from my own 
 observation her grizzlys are no pigmies. 
 
The seventh regular toast was "The City of New 
 York." 
 
 Music— "22d Eegiment March." 
 
 The Chairman called upon Col. Jas. E. Nuttman to 
 respond. 
 
 Col. James E. Nuttman, in response to the call of the 
 Chair, said : 
 
 Mr. Chairman — 
 
 I am at an utter loss to understand why I have been 
 called upon to speak for the city of New York — there is 
 certainly a mistake somewhere. I am not at this time, 
 'nor have I ever been a resident of this city — I am in fact 
 (to a New Yorker) of foreign birth, having first seen light 
 in the State of New Jersey, a place that bears no affec- 
 tion for the theives of this great city, and where once 
 they fall into the clutches of the law they meet their 
 due reward. I am a citizen of San Francisco, while my 
 temporary abode is at Newark, in the State of New 
 Jersey. I could with some propriety speak for San 
 Francisco, a city in which I resided for manj' years. 
 The gentleman on your left, Commodore C. K. Garrison, 
 was the mayor of that city, while I held the position of 
 chief engineer in its fire department, and in looking 
 around I observe many here who are residents of this 
 proud and noble city of New York, and they certainly 
 have no desire that a Jerseyman should speak of her 
 magnitude, wealth and proverbial generosity, a trait her 
 citizens have, upon every occasion of suffering, nobly 
 maintained. Were I a resident of this city I would 
 proclaim it with pride, but in one respect alone can I lay 
 claim to her guardianship. In the month of September, 
 1846, 1 went forth from this city as an humble member 
 of the First Eegiment of New York Volunteers, under 
 the command of Col. Stevenson — it was an expedition to 
 the almost unknown California. The subsequent record 
 of the men of that regiment is a matter of history on the 
 Pacific coast; that I was one of that regiment is my 
 
36 
 
 greatest pride. The State of New York, as also the city, 
 has done much to advance California to her present con- 
 dition of prosperity, and ever may this empire city live 
 in her grandeur, nobly gained by her enterprising citizens. 
 
 The next regular toast was the ■' The Press." 
 
 Music — "New Vienna Waltz." 
 
 Mr. J, W, SiMONTON, of the Associated Press, respond- 
 ed to this and said : 
 
 Mr. Chairman — 
 
 It would give me great pleasure to respond for the 
 press if I were able to do justice to the occasion. But, 
 sir, the reminiscences of California life so vividly re- 
 called by those who have preceded me, and reflections 
 born of the statistics produced here to-night to show 
 the marvelous progress of our Pacific Empire within a 
 quarter of a century, fill me with almost unutterable 
 emotion. The story of the Golden State we love so well, 
 is too great and grand to touch upon at this late hour. 
 I cannot begin it, because there will be no time to teU it 
 as it is, as the press has recorded it in the past, and as 
 its most brilliant pages must record it in the future. 
 
 Sir, I can do no more than refer to the suggestive 
 legends hanging upon these walls, which carry us back 
 to the early days of California, as Americans know her, 
 on which our memories love to dwell. 
 
 Eight opposite me, there, you read upon a banner 
 " The Two Bobs :" who among us needs be told that it 
 can refer to no other than " Bob " Semple and " Bob " 
 Parker. And there, " The Exchanges of '49," the " El 
 Dorado," "Bella Union " and " Parker House." What 
 surging, excited, careless, free-go-easy throngs we 
 remember crowding in and out those halls, in the days 
 when they constituted about the only spots in the now 
 great San Francisco, where, in the evening hours friend 
 could hope to meet friend ; the lawyer his client ; th« 
 
37 
 
 judge his sheriff, or the merchant his customer. And 
 there again we read, " Company F, 3d Artillery, 1st 
 Lieut. W. T. Sherman," a California pioneer, whose 
 fame since then has become his country's, written in 
 letters of living light by his great campaign from the 
 Mississippi valley to the sea. 
 
 Again we see on another shield, " Company M, 3d 
 Artillery, 2d Lieut. H. Gates Gibson," another soldier, 
 whose early promise on the Golden Shores has ripened 
 with the years, and whose genial presence with us, we 
 are all proud to welcome here to-night. 
 
 " The tow-paths of the Sacramento and San Joaquin, 
 1849 ;" " The Country Across by Ox-team Express," 
 " The Horn Around," — how suggestive these reminders 
 of the toils, dangers and privations endured by the Argo- 
 nauts who founded our Pacific Empire. 
 
 And there again we read, " Old 49ers, Steamers 
 Senator, Gapt. Sutter and Mint," all associated in memory 
 with the days when a man, to travel by steam on Cali- 
 fornia's inland waters, must be a capitalist already. 
 The Senator, after a career of unparalleled success, earn- 
 ing more than her weight in gold for her fortunate 
 owners still lives a good and useful old age. What early 
 Californian, under influence of the memories recalled by 
 these simple legends can find words to express anything 
 of the thoughts that struggle with each other ioi utter- 
 ance ? Sir, I confess that I have not the power ; the 
 task would tax an orator, which I am not. And this 
 reminds me of a little story which I may tell without 
 offence, I trust. As our friend Col. Nuttman has intro- 
 duced politics here, in a good natured way, I will be 
 permitted to take " a little hand in " on the other side. 
 In one of the northern border counties of New York 
 there lives a brilliant young Republican lawyer, of clear 
 cut convictions, sound head and much natural dignity of 
 manner. The exception is on those rare occasions when 
 he has taken a drop too much ; then, like most men in 
 such condition, he is apt to be somewhat stupid and 
 silly, until some word or circumstance startles his self- 
 respect, when, for a brief period, his powers of mind 
 
38 
 
 rally to control the effects of debauch, and his dignitr 
 and quickness of comprehension come to his rescue. 
 One day a stranger of convivial habits fell in -with our 
 young friend, and the two got very drunk together. At 
 the crisis of their spree, the stranger threw an arm 
 around our friend in loving embrace, exclaiming : 
 
 " S-a-a-y, your'e a jolly, clever feller; I'll bet my bot- 
 tom dollar now, that you're a good Democrat !" 
 
 This was a startler for the other, who, straitening 
 himself with sudden recovery of dignity and mental 
 balance, replied : 
 
 " My friend, if you have much money about you, don't 
 bet high on that. I know I've got all the symptoms on 
 me just now ; but I hav'nt got the disease." (Laughter.) 
 
 So, Mr. Chairman, you see, that if you thought I 
 exhibited any of the symptoms of an orator, I hav'nt got 
 the disease ; and I trust you will allow me to take my 
 seat with thanks for your kindly call and greeting. 
 (Applause.) 
 
 The next regular toast was " The Veterans of the 
 Mexican War." 
 
 Music — " General Scott's March," 
 
 Col. T. B. Thorpe, an officer under Gen. Taylor, during 
 the Mexican campain, responded as follows : 
 
 Mr. Chairman — 
 
 It seems to me that, in logical arrangement, the 
 " Veterans of the Mexican War," should have been called 
 for in the early part of the evening, for according to Mrs. 
 Glass, of immortal cook-book memory, before you cook 
 a hare you must catch it, and it was the business of the 
 "Veterans of the Mexican War," to catch California, 
 and after that came the glorious deeds and wonderful 
 adventures so eloquently spoken of this evening. What 
 I have heard to night fills my imagination rather as a 
 tale that is told, than as stern truths thatjbut imperfectly 
 recount the most matter of fact reality. The dreamy 
 
39 
 
 but inventive orientals, who have put their unchecked 
 imaginings in the fascinating Arabian nights, have told 
 of no more incredible events than the legitimate record 
 of the wonderful land of the Pacific coast. It was my 
 good fortune to be associated with old Zach. Taylor 
 when he moved his little army of observation from 
 Corpus Christi to the banks of the Eio Grande, and by 
 so doing transformed itself from an army of observation 
 to an army of " occupation." I was then an active 
 newspaper man in the renowned city of New Orleans, 
 and in my patriotic enthusiasm, I urged every body to 
 iake up arms for the honor of my country, and as the 
 spirit of the whole affair was run on strictly political 
 principles, the " opposition press " was contemptible 
 enough to insinuate, that if I kept up such a continued 
 " howling " about the noble duty of going to the war, I 
 had better set a practical example of my good faith by 
 going myself. I felt the force of the argument, and in 
 future time, when the history of the enterprise of the 
 modern press is written, if justice be done, I shall be 
 noted as the first newspaper man, that ever sent a report 
 from the battle field direct to the printing office. 
 
 Pardon me, I say, in connection with the military 
 operations that preceeded the annexation of California, 
 that I have listened with pleasure to the eloquent 
 description of General Scott's march from Vera Cruz to 
 Mexico ; but old Zach. Taylor won the title deed 
 to California on the field of Buena Vista, and to General 
 Soott was accorded the duty of drawing up the official 
 documents in the Halls of the Montezumas. 
 
 But. gentlemen, justice must be done if the heavens 
 fall, and it is truth, and the very essence of it too, that 
 the war that finally ended in such rich results, was not 
 a popular war, and iu spite of the glorious ovation I 
 witness to night, I must tell you that the people fought 
 it out for no other purpose than acquiring Texas ; Cali- 
 fornia, of legendary fame, was then only known as a 
 barren waste, that lay beyond the mystery of the Eocky 
 Mountains, as a country that " chinked " in the conti- 
 nent on the eastern side, so that the great Pacific ocean 
 
40 
 
 might not encroach too much on the land. Before me I 
 see some of the veterans of Col. Stevenson's former 
 regiment, from its ranks, in time, developed statesmen 
 of national fame, and men of wealth, whose possessions 
 for a while created the rewards of the most intelligent 
 industry of the older States. Yet it was difficult to get 
 men to go to California, and the government knowiiig 
 this unanimously determined that, at any cost, there 
 should be some Americans on the Pacific coast, and made 
 it a part of the enlistment obligation that, at the close of 
 the war, the members of the regiment should be mustered 
 out of service in ' California, the private understanding 
 no doubt being that, poverty stricken by serving Uncle 
 Sam, they would become involuntary citizens of the 
 locality from their inability to return home. Lucky, 
 indeed were these now famous volunteers, for when the 
 treasures of the modern Ophir opened its rich stores of 
 gold, they were there to take possession, and by superior 
 energy and enterprise, reap the first fruits of the hospit- 
 able coast. 
 
 At the opening of the century, the romantic people of 
 our continent were those strong armed men, known as 
 the boatmen of the Mississippi. The rich agricultural 
 banks of the " father of waters " yielded bountifully 
 compared with the harder soils of more northern sections. 
 These men, as was natural, gave a new character to our 
 national expressions, for they talked large and strong, 
 their minds inspired by their wonderful surroundings. 
 Then gradually grew up in the west, that necessity 
 of verbal exaggeration, so full of native humor, and so 
 thoroughly American, and which must, if we ever 
 achieve intellectual independence, give tone to our best 
 literature, and be proudly acknowledged as thoroughly 
 American. With the introduction of steamers the occu- 
 pation of the keel boatmen was gone, and they became 
 useful pilots of a swifter navigation. Illustrative of the 
 manner, we remember the reminiscence of the old keel 
 boatman, who had finally, in the mutations of time and 
 rheumatism, descended to the, to him, humble position of 
 a captain of a raft. One night, as his craft of huge logs 
 
41 
 
 floated quietly down the river, and sleeping quietly under 
 the protection of a piece of sail cloth, he was startled by 
 seeing a great deal of the hull of a huge Mississippi 
 steamer that, coming up stream, had recklessly run upon 
 the raft, pushing its sharp bows some forty feet in the 
 air. The keel boatman kept quiet in his "berth," and 
 listened with cool indifference to the confusion of the 
 steamer's crew overhead. Finally, above the roar of the 
 clanking machinery, the puffing steam, was heard the 
 voice of the irate captain, doing some of the tallest 
 swearing that was ever heard in the Mississippi valley, 
 and out of which finally came the distinct threat that he 
 would whip the captain of the raft. This aroused old 
 Titan, who jeeringly replied : " You whip me, a captain 
 of a tea-kettle of one and a half jackass power. I'm the 
 man, the very individual, who, when a child, girdled the 
 bark of a hickory by a suppressed smile. If I should 
 lay my hand on you, there would be an empty grave for 
 all time. I'm an organized institution myself, and have 
 no safety valve. If you don't believe it, tie a lantern to 
 a string, and lower it down and look at my proportions 
 and general appearance ; but I have no grudge captain, 
 and won't charge you any freight for taking your old 
 sinking hull aboard my craft." 
 
 The discovery of California opened a new source of 
 American humor, it changed it from the personal 
 exaggeration peculiar to the valley of the Mississippi, to 
 " poetical licence " regarding natural objects. Said one 
 of the " Argonauts," in an excited conversation, " Look 
 at California, unrivalled in any natural production that 
 comes from the soil — gold ! well enough in its way, but a 
 mere drug — nothing to be compared with its vegetable 
 productions. Look at its forests, trees varying from three 
 hundred to a thousand feet in height, with their trunks 
 so close together (drawing his knife and pantomiming), 
 that you can't stick this bowie between them ; and then 
 it wonld do your hearts good to see the lordly elk, with 
 antlers from seventeen to twenty feet spread, with their 
 heads and tails up, ambling through these grand forests. 
 It's a sight gentlemen. 
 
42 
 
 " Stop," said one of the listeners, a new comer in 
 California, one who had not yet been inoculated with 
 the atmosphere, " my friend," said he, " if the trunks of 
 the trees are so close together, how do these elks get 
 through the woods with their wide branching horns?" 
 
 The Californian turned on the questioner with a look 
 of thorough contempt, and replied "that's the Elk's 
 business," and then continued on in his unYarnished 
 tale, unembarrassed as the summer noon-day sun. 
 
 The next regular toast was " The Merchants and 
 Merchants' Marine of California." 
 
 Col. Beverly C. Sanders, formerly collector of the 
 port of San Francisco, being called upon by the Chair to 
 respond, asked that he might be excused, but the com- 
 pany voted his motion out of order, and the Colonel 
 proceeded, saying : 
 
 Mr. Peesident and Gentlemen — 
 
 I have been most unexpectedly called upon to 
 respond to the sentiment just proposed — the gentleman 
 who was expected to respond having just left the room, 
 and thus placed me on the " ragged edge of despair ;" 
 but I may modestly adopt the motto of one of Califor- 
 nia's earliest settlers (Dort Eabe), nil desperandum. 
 
 The sentiment proposed — " The Merchants and 
 Merchant's Marine of California " — is a theme so prolific 
 that a volume may be written without exhausting its 
 interest in the public mind, particularly the vivid recol- 
 lections of those adventurous spirits who participated in 
 the early struggles which has resulted in the permanent 
 establishment of one of the wealthiest and most import- 
 ant States of this glorious Union. 
 
 The merchants and business men who first settled 
 California were almost unexceptionably men of extra- 
 ordinary endowments of intelligence, enterprise and 
 energy, for at that time it was only such spirits who had 
 the courage to brave the hardships and dangers incident 
 
43 
 
 to a voyage around Cape Horn, or across the Isthmus by 
 a " pungy," up the Chagres Eiver to Cruces or Gor- 
 gona, thence on a mule to Panama, to seek from there 
 an uncertain conveyance by sea to a land of gold. 
 
 But these dangers and hardshps were nobly braved 
 and overcome ; and, in a short space of time, merchants 
 of character and enterprise from every country estab- 
 lished themselves in business, trading wiih every country 
 in the civilized world, and extending their commerce to 
 the islands of the Pacific ocean, many of which were 
 not civilized. 
 
 A remarkable feature in the enterprise of the business 
 men in the early history of California was the establish- 
 ment of machine shops and shipbuilding, for while the 
 " flats" were swarming with vessels of all classes, aban- 
 doned as seagoing vessels, and used only as store ships, 
 the merchants were building other crafts more suitable 
 for the navigation of the bays and rivers for interior 
 commerce. 
 
 I remember building a steamer (the Santa Clara) for 
 the Stockton trade, and two sloops for the bay and river 
 trade as early as 1850 and 1851. But the great mer- 
 chants who at that early day gave such an impetus to 
 the growth and prosperity of California are, many of 
 them, still living to witness the grandeur and wealth 
 which are the results of their enterpiise, wisdom and 
 energy. The growth in wealth, population and com- 
 mercial importance of the metropolis of the Pacific coast 
 is, I believe, without a parallel in the annals of the 
 world, and mainly owing to the enterprise and wise fore- 
 cast of merchants of the early days of that city, many of 
 whom are now living to enjoy the fruits of their labors, 
 and some are here present to-night. 
 
 I am not sure, Mr. President, that even this great 
 metropolis is quite safe from successful competition by 
 San Francisco. Many changes as great have taken place 
 in the world. I have in my eye one to whom California 
 is greatly indebted for much of her prosperity (Com. 
 Garrison), and who has taken up his residence in this 
 city. If the Commodore wants to insure New York 
 
44 
 
 against successful rivalship by San Francisco, I would 
 suggest that he construct a ship-canal across the 
 Isthmus, and make a highway for all nations to connect 
 the two oceans. This will be a work worthy of him, and 
 remain for ever a monument to his fame. 
 
 I made the same suggestion once to Commodore Van- 
 derbilt, but he said he was too old to commence such a 
 gigantic enterprise. Commodore Garrison cannot plead 
 the same excuse. 
 
 But, gentlemen, California was not noted only for her 
 energetic and intelligent merch ants. Her lawyers, doctors, 
 mechanics, artisans of all kinds, indeed every trade and 
 profession was well represented in the early history of 
 California. They have generally been successful because 
 they had the pluck and endurance to surmount misfor- 
 tunes, losses and disasters of every kind, whether by 
 misfortune in speculations, or water or fire, the latter 
 element having several times destroyed their all ; but 
 they were a people who are unconquerable, and therefore 
 must succeed. , 
 
 Some of the happiest days of my life were spent in 
 that great State, and I feel inexpressible pleasure in 
 meeting so many old friends and associates this evening 
 to remind me of those pleasant days. 
 
 The theme suggested by the sentiment to which I 
 have had the honor to be called upon so unexpectedly 
 to respond, might be elaborated for hours, and more 
 forcibly by the gentleman who has adroitly escaped the 
 responsibility ; but I will not consume more time at 
 present than to thank you, Mr. President, for the honor 
 you and this goodly company have done me, and to 
 express the hope that we shall enjoy many happy 
 re-unions in the future. 
 
 " The introduction of steam navigation upon the 
 interior waters of California" was the last regular toast, 
 to which Mr. John Sickels responded : 
 
45 
 
 Mr. Chairman — 
 
 111 looking around among my old California asso- 
 ciates, the question presents itself, "what common 
 impulse could have brought us together, at so much per- 
 sonal discomfort on such a stormy night." The answer 
 quite as readily suggests itself to the minds of all of us. 
 It is because there is a common brotherhood existing 
 among all old Californians which time cannot weaken, 
 so long as there shall be left two or three to gather 
 together and renew the associations of the eventful days 
 when we were pioneers together. So may it, so will it 
 always be. 
 
 The story of our early experiences in California has, 
 doubtless, with each of us enough of material out of 
 which to fashion narratives of far more than passing 
 interest, each one varying from the other, though all 
 filled with singular phases and no small amount of rare 
 adventure. I suppose it is because my own special 
 experience, in the early days of California, were in con- 
 nection with the introduction of steam navigation on the 
 interior waters of California that I have been called 
 upon to respond to the sentiment which has just been 
 read by the Chairman, and that I am expected to say 
 something touching that important event. 
 
 Aside from the niinor efforts that were made to estab- 
 lish steam navigation on the bay of San Francisco, and 
 the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers by the construc- 
 tion of small steamboats in California in 1849-50. I 
 presume you wiU all agree with me that steam commu- 
 nication proper was first opened up between San Fran- 
 cisco and the interior by the arrival of the staunch old 
 "Senator." Her history, Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, 
 if it were to be related here to-night in detail would fill 
 a large measure of the hours that are still before us, and 
 as a story of the accumulation of rapid and dazzling 
 wealth would be scarcely less interesting than that of our 
 Arabian friend Aladdin and his famous lamp. I refrain, 
 however, from going into that history in detail, because 
 I have no right to occupy so much of your time. I may 
 
46 
 
 say however, in general terms, that with the exception 
 of one trip made by the Senator, while she was under 
 the direction of Charles Minturn, I received and dis- 
 bursed her entire earnings, amounting to nearly 
 $5,000,000 of dollars in gold. "We all know what princely 
 men our American steamship men are, what wealth they 
 have accumulated and what benefits they have conferred 
 upon the commercial world, and we have one here with 
 us to-night, as one of our associates, who is, perhaps 
 the best representative of them all. But I doubt if, in 
 the experience of all of them, there can be an instance 
 cited of such a marvellous character as this golden 
 legend of the steamer Senator. 
 
 In this connection it is no less my duty than my 
 pleasure to say one word by way of tribute to the 
 memory of Charles Minturn ; I knew him well, and had 
 the measure of all his virtues and all his faults ; I am 
 glad to be able to say that the former so far outshine the 
 latter that they constitute a monument to his name and 
 fame that will exist for ever. To his large mindedness, 
 his sagacity and his enterprise, California , was indebted 
 not alone for this introduction of steam-navigation upon 
 her interior waters, but for the erection of wharves and 
 warehouses, the establishment of ferries, and the most 
 untiring zeal and activity in the projection and deve- 
 lopement of every public and private enterprise that 
 looked to the progress and advancement of society. He 
 was among those who seem to have been called to fulfil 
 a special mission of duty in aiding to build up and 
 cement into stately proportions that young empire of the 
 west, and his work was so faithfully performed as to 
 merit, as I have no doubt it receives the grateful remem- 
 brance of every citizen of California. 
 
 It does not become me to enlarge upon this topic, but 
 I may conclude with the single remark, that if the 
 introduction of steam upon the inland waters of Califor- 
 nia, brought wealth to those. who were sagacious and 
 enterprising enough to be its projectors, it brought 
 likewise facilities for commercial intercourse and travel 
 to the community, which at that day were of priceless 
 
47 
 
 advantage, and contributed perhaps a greater boon than 
 had then, or has ever since been conferred upon the 
 people of California. Let us honor the names then of 
 those through whose instrumentality it was brought 
 about, and who subsequently developed the steam com- 
 merce of the Pacific coast to such important dimensions. 
 
 Mr. John Sickels offered the following resolution, 
 which was seconded by Mr. Willaed B. Faewell, and 
 unanimously adopted by the company present : — 
 
 Resolved, That the old Galifornians assembled here 
 to-night have heard with inexpressible pleasure and 
 pride of the splendid achievements of their old fellow- 
 citizen, Henry Meigs, in Chili and Peru, in the intro- 
 duction of the great civilizer of modern times, the rail- 
 road and locomotive, and have marked the progress 
 which has resulted to the people of those countries, by 
 reason of the energy and enterprise of this indomitable 
 man. 
 
 Eecognizing the honor which he has conferred upon 
 himself as an Old Calif ornian, and upon the American 
 name, and mindful of the errors of the past as well as 
 the achievements of his later years, while we honor his 
 name and fame, we remember and re-assert the precept 
 that " to grr is human, to forgive divine !" 
 
 Gen. Thos. D. Johns, moved that the Secretary be in- 
 structed to have the resolution of Mr. Sickels engrossed, 
 framed and forwarded to Mr. Henry Meigs. Adopted. 
 
 Me. O. H. Pieeson, moved that the thanks of the com- 
 pany here assembled be voted to the Messrs. Leland, of 
 the Sturtevant, for the admirable and liberal supply of 
 solids and luxuries set before us upon the present oc- 
 casion. Adopted. 
 
 Me. Feancis D. Claek, offered the following resolu- 
 tion, which was adopted. 
 
 Resolved, That the thanks of the Old Galifornians here 
 agsembled be tendered to the "!NewYork Association 
 
48 
 
 of the Veterans of the Mexican War" — to the " Ameri- 
 can Express Co., also "The Adams Express Co." for 
 the kind use pf colors and bunting for the decoration of 
 of the banquet hall upon the present occasion. 
 
 Me. John Sickels offered the following resolution, 
 which was unanimously adopted. 
 
 Resolved, That the thanks of the Old Calif ornians be 
 tendered to Mr. Francis D. Clark, the Treasurer to thie 
 Committee of Arrangements, for the untiring industry 
 and indomitable energy exhibited by that gentleman in 
 bringing about this most agreeable and pleasant Re- 
 union of the Territorial Californians. 
 
 Mb. Willakd B. Fakwell, Secretary to the Commit- 
 tee of Arrangements, read the following letters : 
 
 Executive Mansion, Washington, 
 
 Feb. 6th, 1875. 
 Genl. — 
 
 The President directs me to acknowledge the receipt of the polite 
 invitation to attend the Ke-union Banquet of the Old Californians, to 
 be held at the Sturtevant House, on the 11th inst., which he has re- 
 ceived through you, and in reply to convey to you his regrets that his 
 public duties will not permit him to be absent from the Capital at that 
 time. It would afford him much gratification to be present at the 
 dinner, and meet old friends and renew the acquaintances of the early 
 days when California was a Territory, but must deny himself tha 
 pleasure. He desires me to assure you of his best wishes for a very en- 
 joyable time. , 
 I am. General, very truly yours, 
 
 LEVI LtrOKET, 
 
 Secretary. 
 Gen. Rurus Ingalls, 
 
 New York City. 
 
 Headquaeteks Akmy or the United States, 
 St. Louis, Mo., 
 
 January 26th, 1875. 
 
 Messes. Jacob P. Leese, Rodman M. Pbice, Feancis D. Claek and 
 others. Committee, New York. 
 
 My Ancient Pkiends — 
 
 I have just received your kind invitation to unite with you in a 
 Ba-union of Californians, who date their residence there In th« old 
 
49 
 
 soloaial days, to have a Banquet, and to live over again in memory that 
 wonderful epoch of our lives. 
 
 I am sorry I am so far away, for I assure you that I see among the 
 signers of the card names that I recall as freshly as of yesterday ; I 
 hope you will have the Banquet, and a good one, but you must count 
 me absent, for I cannot afford to travel all the way to New York and 
 back for a treat, however tempting. 
 
 With great respect, your Friend, 
 
 W. T. SHERMAN, 
 
 Oeneral. 
 
 LiTiz, Lancastek Co., Pa., 
 
 Feb. 8th, 1875. 
 
 To Majoe-Genikal Burns Ingalls and John Sickels, Esqr., Com- 
 mittee on Invitations of the Ee-union of Old Californians. 
 
 Gentlemen — 
 
 I have received your very polite invitation of the 4th inst. to the 
 Ke-union Banquet, at the Sturtevant House, on the 11th inst. Gentle- 
 men, please receive my hearty thanks for your kind remembrance ; I 
 regret very much that I am not able to attend this very interesting Ee- 
 union, because I had a severe attack of rheumatism while I was in 
 Washington, and was confined to my bed from the 12th to the 26th 
 January, and on the 27th I arrived safely here at home, but I am suffer- 
 ing yet, so that I am not able to move further as from my bed to my 
 writing desk. Believe me, gentlemen, that this meeting with so many 
 old friends, pioneers and distinguished gentlemen, would have been 
 one of my happiest moments in my whole life. 
 
 I am in hopes that I may be in better health at the next Ee-union, so 
 that I might be able to attend. Gentlemen, I wish that you may enjoy 
 and have much pleasure at this very interesting Banquet. I have the 
 honor to be, with the highest regards and friendship. 
 
 Yours very truly, 
 
 J. A. SUTTEE. 
 
 Gabden City, L. I., N. Y., 
 
 Feb. 2d, 1876. 
 F. D. Claek, Sec, &c. 
 
 Mt Deae Me. Claek — 
 
 Your very kind note of the 30 ult. has this moment been de- 
 livered to me. In reply, I can only state that now I am in great doubt 
 as to whether I shall be able to participate in your Banquet on the 11th 
 inst. or not. At present the walking is slippery and the snow deep, 
 hence it is not prudent for me to circulate much ; besides, it may rain 
 as it did on the 28th of January, which I must also avoid ; but whether 
 it should be my portion to beone of you in your approaching Banquet, 
 
50 
 
 1 sincerely trust that all of you old Californians will hare a jolly good 
 time ; my heart will be with you. I have sent to Mr. Willard B. 
 Farwell to send me a tieket, which I shall certainly talce advantage of 
 is practicable. 
 
 Hope you are well. 
 
 Sincerely yours, 
 
 JOSEPH HOOKER, 
 
 Major-General 
 
 New Yobk City, 
 
 Feb. 8th, 1875. 
 
 To Genebal RuFDS Ingalls and John Sickels, Esqr., Committee on 
 Invitations — Ee-union of old Californians. 
 
 Gentlemen — 
 
 Your invitation to be present at a Ee-union Banquet of Old Cali- 
 fornians, at the Sturtevant House, on the 11th inst., was received. 
 
 I regret that a previous engagement will prevent my acceptance of 
 the same. 
 
 Thanking you for your attention. 
 
 I am, very truly yours, 
 
 WINFIELD S. HANCOCK. 
 
 State or New Yobk, Executive Mansion, Albany, 
 
 Feb. 5th, 1875. 
 
 Gen. EuFtJs Ingalls and John Sickels, Esqr. , Committee. 
 Gentlemen — 
 
 The Governor directs me to express his regret that he is unable 
 to accept your kind invitation to attend the Ee-union of Old Cali- 
 fornians, on the 11th inst. 
 
 I am very truly yours, 
 
 CHARLES STEBBINS, 
 
 frivate Secretary. 
 
 Navy Yard, Bkooklyn, 
 
 Feb. 5th, 1875. 
 
 Vice-Admiial Eowan presents his compliments to the Committee, 
 and regrets that a death in the family will prevent his acceptance of an 
 invitation to a Baaquet to be given by "Old Californians," at the 
 Sturtevant House, on the 11th inst. 
 
 To 
 
 Gkn'l Eupus Ingalls, U. S. A. , 
 and John Sickels, Esq., 
 
 Committet on JnvitatiQn. 
 
si 
 
 Nirw YoBK, Feb. 11, 1876. 
 To Mb. Willaee B. Fabwell, Secretary. 
 Deae Sib : 
 
 I must regret to inform you that sickness which confines me to 
 my room, will deprive me of the pleasure of joining in the festivities 
 with the Old Californians this evening. My best wishes attend you, 
 may your banquet awaken many happy associations of the early days 
 of our beautiful California. 
 
 ■i ours truly, 
 
 WM. "W. LIVINGSTON, 
 
 Commander U. S. Navy. 
 
 United States Senate Chambeb, 
 
 Washington, Feb. 8th, 1875 
 
 Gentlemen : 
 
 It would give me great pleasure to join Old Californians at their 
 Ee-union Banquet, on the 11th instant, at the Sturtevant House. But 
 I regret it will not be possible for me to leave Washington this week 
 without neglecting important duties requiring my personal attention 
 here ; with many thanks for your kind invitation. 
 I remain yours respectfully, 
 
 JNO. S. HAGAE. 
 
 United States Senate Chambeb, 
 
 Washington, Feb. 7tli, 1875. 
 
 Gents. . 
 
 Please accept thanks for your invitation to be present at the 
 banquet, on the 11 th instant, at New York, being a Ee-union of Old 
 Californians, and in memory of the territorial days of California. It 
 would give me much pleasure to be present, and meet old friends on 
 that occasion, but onerous public duties will prevent. Trusting you 
 may have a pleasant re-union. 
 
 I am, very respectfully. 
 
 Your obliged servant, 
 
 A. A. SARGENT. 
 
 EUFUS iNGAlIiS, 
 
 John Sickels, 
 
 Committee on Invitation. 
 
 No. 31 West 61st St., 
 
 Feb. 6th, 1875- 
 W. B. Faewell, Esq. 
 Deae Sib : 
 
 I sincerely regret that absence from the city in fulfilment of 
 lecture engagements will prevent me from taking part in the Ke- 
 
52 
 
 union of Old CalifornianB. As a pioneer of '49, who voted for the Con- 
 stitntion, tiud'also as one who declared the agricultural possibilities of 
 California, at a time when few believed in them. I still keep fresh the 
 sympathetic interest which brings you together. May the warm, frank, 
 ohivalric spirit of the old days brighten your meeting. 
 Very sincerely, 
 
 BAYABD TAYLOK. 
 
 TELEGRAPHIC. 
 
 San Feancisoo, Feb. 11, 1875. 
 
 Fbancis D. Olabk, New York. 
 
 The last Alcalde of Monterey, and present Senator 
 of San Francisco, sends his greeting to the Old Califor- 
 nians assembled at New York to-night. 
 
 PHILIP A. ROACH. 
 
 San Fbancisco, Feb. 11, 1876. 
 
 General H. Gates Gibson, Chairman, and Fbancis D. 
 Clabk, Secretary, of The Associated Pioneers of 
 Territorial California, Sturteyant House, New York. 
 
 The Territorial Pioneers of California, always proud 
 and mindful of their brethren wherever they rest or 
 roam, send greeting to The Associated Pioneers of Ter- 
 ritorial California in New York', and would gladly wel- 
 come them to their California home. 
 
 J. M. McDonald, President. 
 
 T. P. a. 
 
 A very interesting letter was also received and read, 
 from E. C. Kemble, one of the editors of the Alta Cali- 
 fornia, at the period of the discovery gold. Mr. Kemble 
 gave a graphic description of the scenes and incidents 
 that transpired in San Francisco, when the news was 
 received there, and presented many new facts that were 
 
53 
 
 not generally known. Much to the regret of the Com- 
 mittee the manuscript of Mr. Kemble's has been lost, 
 and therefore, it could not be printed here as was in- 
 tended. 
 
 Letters were also received from Juan N. Navarro, Esq., 
 Consul General of Mexico ; Gen'l Francis J. Lippitt, of 
 Boston, Mass., formerly Capt. of Co. F, Stevenson's 
 Eegiment, Hon. George C. Gorham, Sec'y U. S. Senate, 
 Messrs. Levi Parsons, Lucien Loeser, John S. Ellis, 
 Alexander M. Kenaday and others. 
 
 Amid the singing of " Auld Lang Syne," accompanied 
 by the full band, the company at the hour of 2 A. M. 
 dispersed, all expressing a feeling of joy and happiness 
 at this pleasant reunion, which has afforded so many 
 old acquaintances to be renewed. 
 
 'First Discovery of Gold in California." 
 
 LiTiz, Lancastee Co., Pa., 
 
 March 10th, 1875 
 
 Fkancis D Clabk, Esq., Secretary of The Associated Pioneere of 
 California, New Yorb. 
 
 Deab Sib : 
 
 Your esteemed favor of the 6th inst. was received on the 8th, 
 about the discovery of gold ; I can give you no particular date, as my 
 day-book was destroyed by fire when my house was burnt at Hockfarm, 
 but have a big ring of about two ounce weight which I keep as a relique, in 
 which is engraved "The first gold discovered in January, 1848," of this 
 gold Marshall gave me a part, and the laborers (Mormons) at the mill 
 gave me some, and a few pieces I picked up myself in the mill race after 
 the water was shut off, and then I said the whole of this gold will be- 
 come a ring so soon as we have a goldsmith in California, and so I got 
 this ring made. 
 
 Marshall himself would no more remember the date when he found 
 the first pieces, when he came down to the Fort, he told me that he 
 told the people that it might be gold, then they laughed, and called him 
 a crazy man, after we proved it, and when I told them that it was pure 
 fine gold, then they did believe it. 
 
 I thank you very much for the beautiful badge. As a mark of esteem, 
 please accept my latest photograph. 
 
 Yours truly, 
 
 J^ A. STJTTER, 
 
Major General James A. Hardie, Inspector General 
 U. S. Army, under date of Philadelphia, March 10th, 
 writes, that sickness in his family, as also duties which 
 demanded his personal attention, prevented his being at 
 the banquet, which would have proven a double pleasure, 
 as he should thereby have met some of his old comrades 
 of Stevenson's Regiment, as also many acquaintances 
 made by himself during the Territorial days of Cali- 
 fornia. 
 
 A letter written by Dr. John E. Ceandall, dated. 
 Auburn, Cal., February 2d, 1875, 11:30 P. M., and ad- 
 dressed to Mr. O. H. PiEKSON, was, at the request of that 
 gentleman, read by the Secretary, and from which are 
 given a few extracts. The Doctor writes : 
 
 " I sit down at this late hour to acknowledge your kind invitation, 
 requesting my presence at the Ee-union of Old Californians. While I 
 must forego this pleasure, you will accept my warm thanks for your 
 kind consideration, and allow me, through yourself, to express my most 
 cordial greetings to the representatives of Territorial days of California , 
 and all others present on the auspicious occasion. I need not wish the 
 measure of their pleasure complete, may it be full, pressed down, shaken 
 together and running over. " 
 
 ******* 
 
 " I need not speak of the hardships and toil of all, of the disappoint- 
 ments of the many, and the success of the comparative few. but I can 
 and will speak of those early pioneers as a class of citizens worthy of 
 the highest commendation." 
 
 ******* 
 
 "In conclusion, allow me to express a sentiment. The Ee-union of 
 Californians assembled at the Sturtevant House, New York, on the even- 
 ing of the 11th inst. May they never have cause to regret the toils, 
 hardships and sufferings incident upon a California pioneer life, may 
 the festivities on the occasion go to make up, in a great measure, for 
 your disappointments, and may the deficiencies of the present day (if 
 any) be supplied by the morrow. " 
 
 The health of Dr. Crandall was then drank by the 
 assembled company. 
 
 Mb. Pierson being called upon by the Chair, replied 
 to the sentiment expressed in the letter of Dr. Crandall, 
 and amid his remarks, referring to that gentleman said : 
 
 Many of you, doubtless, in your journeyings in and 
 around California since 1851, became acquainted with 
 
the Doctor ; a man of indomitable energy, untiring per- 
 severance, warm sympathy, large benevolence, abundant 
 interest in his fellow-man, generous in the bestowment 
 of his possessiotis for the happiness and comfort oi 
 others ; hospitable and genial in his home, where all are 
 welcome ; a man largely interested in the advancement 
 of improvements in his State — halting not, even if the 
 venture is large ; just and kind in all his dealings. Proud 
 of his California home, fruits, lands. State and her 
 people ; and on the fruit tables at the County Fairs 
 throughout the State the choicest varieties of fruits were 
 labeled with his name — raised in the extensive orchards 
 of his Auburn home. I imagine now, that I see him at 
 Stockton, Sacramento, Marysville, as I saw him in his 
 ambitious days of seventeen years ago. Who of you^ 
 fellow-Californians, does not remember the Auburn and 
 Bear Eiver Canal, a work of stupendous proportions, 
 and one that required large outlays of capital^hundreds 
 of thousands — and know him to be the prime mover and 
 strongest lever ; and what inducements the experiment 
 offered, and when the result was known, after years of 
 toil and anxious suspense and failure, held up its reign 
 on the summit of the enterprise. Hqw nobly, like a true 
 Californian, Dr. Crandall bore his defeat, although thou- 
 sands and tens of thousands of dollars had been swept 
 away in the venture ; and how his heart of sympathy 
 comes up to us to-night, in warm and social fellow- 
 feeling ; and how gladly would he join with us and 
 participate in these reminiscences of former days; for 
 he loves all Californians, not only in his State, but 
 wherever they may be ; although he, like many, and 
 Californians generally, have met with changes and dis- 
 appointments, yet the sorrows and disappointments with 
 him and you, Mr. Chairman, and you, gentlemen, I trust 
 are all healed and obliterated by the thought, that we 
 do not regret the experience of California life. And what- 
 ever other regrets we may have, may we never regret 
 the acquaintance we formed there, nor be ashamed to 
 acknowledge that we love its memories, its climate, its 
 peopl* and the whole State itself. 
 
56 
 
 Volumes could be written of the enterprise and endur- 
 ance of the early Califorians. What speaks it more than 
 that San Francisco burnt down in an hour, and re- 
 built as it were in a month ? Marysville, in ashes by 
 midnight, and at daylight arrangements were made for 
 rebuilding. Sacramento was dry at supper time, and m 
 the morning boats were passing up J street ; and these 
 were but few of the wonderful changes experienced in 
 our pioneer life. I am proud that we can live those old 
 scenes over again in memory, and am delighted at the 
 interest manifested to-night, and when I behold this 
 great tree grown to such vast proportions from the small 
 plant set out five years since at the home of our old 
 friend, and a former member of Stevenson's Regiment, 
 Mr. Wolfe, of 23d,street, and repeat and live over some of 
 the memories there, and see how the lamp burns to- 
 night, brighter and brighter in this hall of splendor and 
 luxury, I am gratified beyond measure to see so large 
 an assemblage, so much intelligence and noble culture. 
 And while in this great enjoyment, let us hope that each 
 year will be assembled California's sons to keep the 
 lamp of old memories brightly burning. And let our 
 greetings go out on this midnight air to the brothers of 
 our noble old Golden State in good cheer and brightest 
 wishes for dear friends and old comrades living there. 
 
 JNew Yoee, March 25, 1875. 
 
 The undersigned, constituted, in accordance with the 
 Articles of Association, ex-officio, Board of Trustees of 
 " The Associated Pioneers of the Territorial days of Cali- 
 fornia" in the City of New York, would respectfully 
 state that they have duly considered the several subjects 
 brought to their attention by their associates, in the 
 interest of the Association, and it is not deemed expe- 
 dient until such time as the amount at their disposal 
 will permit to have a fixed place of meeting, (the sum 
 received as interest from the United States Government 
 
57 
 
 Bonds purchased with the funds received for member- 
 ship being the only money appropriated for the neces- 
 sarily incurred expenses of the Association), but upon 
 every occasion that a meeting of the members may be 
 considered advisable, a call will be made by this Board 
 for such special meeting by a printed notice, which the 
 Secretary will forward to every member, the place of 
 meeting being therein designated. 
 
 It is the purpose of this Board, and it is urged upon 
 their associates, to exert every effort to increase the 
 financial strength of the treasury of the Association 
 with the expectation that but a few years will intervene 
 before the Association will be enabled to support a per- 
 manent hall, which shall not only contain the journals and 
 periodicals of the Golden State, but will become a 
 museum containing valuable records of interest, and con- 
 tributions of curiosities pertaining to the early days of 
 Califonia. 
 
 The Secretary of the Association will record the 
 names of all former residents of the Golden State with 
 their present address, upon the receipt of the names of 
 such persons by him, and will at all times furnish such 
 information as may pertain to such record upon personal 
 or written application being made. 
 
 Application for membership can at all times be 
 made to the Secretary, who will also furnish a copy 
 of the Artides of Association, and foim of application 
 for membership The membership fee has been placed 
 at Ten Dollars, which is without further assessments 
 or dues. This plan was deemed the most desirable 
 by the Committee to whom was intrusted the framing of 
 the Articles of Association, and their judgment was 
 unanimously endorsed by the meeting, on the evening of 
 the organization of the Association, February 11th, 1876. 
 
 All Old Californians, now residents of the Atlantic 
 States are cordially invited to enroll themselves as mem- 
 bers of this Association. A brotherhood of pioneers in 
 the halcyon days of the El-Dorado, the constitutional 
 organizers of the Golden State, comrades in the trials 
 
58 
 
 vexations, hopes, misfortunes and adventures of early 
 Californian life. 
 
 A difference of opinion having existed in regard to the 
 date of the discovery of gold in California, the Secretary 
 was requested to communicate with the veteran pioneer 
 Gen'l John A. Sutter, on the subject, and that gentle- 
 man's reply will be found upon a preceding page, fixing 
 the discovery of gold in the month of January, 1848, and 
 no specific date having been given, this board has de- 
 cided to announce Wednesday evening, the 28th of Jan- 
 uary, 1876, as the date of the next annual meeting and 
 banquet. 
 
 The preceding pages mark the progress of the re- 
 unions of early Galifornians held in this city, commenc- 
 ing in 1872, with a little gathering of fifteen, while that 
 of the present year was nearly one hundred, some of 
 whom traveled hundreds of miles. Thus year by year arc 
 we increasing in numbers and interest. 
 Kespectfully, &c., 
 
 H. GATES GIBSON, 
 
 Brevet Brig. Gen'l, U. S. Army, 
 
 President , 
 Fort Wadsworth, N. Y. Harbor. 
 
 JOHN SICKELS, 
 
 Vice-President, 
 
 li Pine St., N. T. 
 
 FRANCIS D. CLAEK, 
 
 Secy and Treas., 
 16 Cortlandt St., N. Y. 
 
snsyi* 
 
 *<^OFt<?H 
 
 
 ADOPTED AT THEIR FIRST ANNUAL MEETING HELD IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK, 
 JANUARY 18th, 1876. 
 
 Gks'i. H. G. GIBSON, JOHN SICKELS, FEANCIS D. CLAEK, 
 
 Pnsidenl, Vice-President, Sec^y tind Treas. 
 
 GEOEGE HOWES, 
 JOHN G. HODGE, 
 GEORGE r. SNIFFEN, 
 JAMES A. SPEEET, 
 COENELIUS LTDECKEE, 
 
 ^ Council on Applications 
 for MembersJiip, 
 
 j^a^ 
 
ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION. 
 
 Article i. — This Society shall be known by the name of 
 " The Associated Pioneers of the Territorial Days of California," 
 and is declared to be a social organization. Its objects are to 
 form a more perfect union of the Pioneers of California, now 
 residents of the Atlantic States, and to cultivate social inter- 
 course between them. 
 
 Art. 2. — To collect and preserve historical facts and infor- 
 mation, in connection with the early and subsequent history of 
 the Pacific Coast. 
 
 Art. 3. — To perpetuate the memory of those whose wisdom, 
 valor and enterprise advanced civilization to the shores of the 
 Pacific. 
 
 Art. 4. — It shall be the duty, as it will be the interest, of 
 every member of the Society to use all laudable efforts to collect 
 and procure such relics, incidents and facts connected with the 
 history and settlement of California, as may be interesting and 
 useful to the Society ; and so soon as it is prepared to provide 
 for the care of the same, donations of such articles and infor- 
 mation will be received. 
 
 Art. 5. — It is declared to be the further purpose of the So- 
 ciety, at such period as the financial strength of its treasury will 
 warrant, to support a permanent hall in the City of New York, 
 
which shall contain the journals and periodicals of the Golden 
 State, a library for the diffusion of useful knowledge among its 
 members, a museum containing valuable records of interest and 
 curiosities pertaining to the early days of California ; as also a 
 Headquarters for residents of California visiting this city. 
 
 Art. 6. — All persons who were for any period in Cahfornia 
 prior to the 9th day of September, 1850, (the date of the admis- 
 sion of the State of Cahfornia into the Union,) all who se;:ved 
 in the Navy of the United States on the Coast of California 
 during the conquest of that then Mexican Territory, and the 
 male descendants of all such, of lawful age, shall be eligible to 
 membership. 
 
 Art. 7. — All persons whose residence in California dated 
 subsequent to the 9th day of September, 1850, and who were 
 residents of the State for the period of one year, shall be eligi- 
 ble to Honorary Membership on the same terms as other mem- 
 bers, and shall be entitled to all the privileges of the Society, 
 except to vote and hold office ; provided however that this 
 section shall in no wise change the status of the Honorary 
 members who were enrolled prior to the adoption of these 
 revised Articles of Association. 
 
 Art. 8. — Any person qualified as prescribed in the- two fore- 
 going sections, desiring to become a member, shall make appli- 
 cation to the Secretary of the Society, giving name, place of 
 residence, occupation, and date of his arrival, or that of his 
 ancestor, in California ; and within ten days after the receipt of 
 such application the Secretary shall transmit the same to the 
 chairman of the " Council on Applications," and upon the 
 return of the application by the council, as approved, the Sec- 
 retary shall notify the applicant of his election. 
 
 Art. 9. — All applicants for membership to this Society must 
 be men of good character and gentlemanly deportment, and in 
 every way entitled to the respect and confidence of the Asso- 
 ciated Pioneers ; and in any case where the facts obtained by 
 the Council on Apphcations are to the contrary, the applica- 
 tion shall be rejected. 
 
■ Art. 10. — Each person, on admission as a member of the 
 Society, shall pay into its treasury the sum of ten dollars, and 
 without the payment of any further dues whatsoever ; and shall 
 sign the Articles of Association with his name in full, and the 
 day of the month and year of his arrival in California ; and if any 
 person residing in the City of New York, for two months after 
 his notification by the Secretary of his election, or if residing 
 outside of the City of New York, for three months after 
 said notification, shall neglect to pay his membership fee, and 
 sign the Articles of Association, he shall be considered as 
 having declined to become a member ; provided however that 
 a pioneer whose residence in California dated prior to the i8th 
 of January, 1848, the date of the discovery of gold at Sutter's 
 Saw-Mill, shall be by vote of two-thirds of the members present 
 at an annual meeting of the Society admitted to membership 
 without payment of the stipulated fee. 
 
 Art. II. — Any member who shall be accused of moral tur- 
 pitude or misconduct, inconsistent with his obligations as a 
 member of the Society, or who shall make a false representation 
 of the time of his arrival in California, shall be notified to appear 
 before the Board of Trustees, and if found' guilty, shall be re- 
 primanded or expelled by said Board, and notice thereof shall 
 be given to the members by the Board, through the Secretary, 
 stating the reason of said action : provided, the member shall 
 have the right to appeal to the next annual meeting of the So- 
 ciety, by filing in the Secretary's office notice of his intention 
 so to appeal within one month after the service upon him of the 
 notice of the judgment of the Board. And unless the decision 
 of the Board be>affirmed by a vote of a majority of the members 
 present, the action of the Board shall be of no effect. 
 
 Art. 12. — The officers of the Society shall consist of a Pres- 
 ident, Vice-President, Secretary (who shall also be Treasurer) 
 and a Council on Applications, to consist of five members. 
 These eight shall constitute ex-officio the Board of Trustees ; 
 and shall have the executive management and direction of the 
 Society. 
 
 Art. 13. — The annual meeting of the Society shall be held 
 
on the Eighteenth day of January, that being the anniversary 
 of the discovery of gold at Sutter's Saw-Mill by James W. 
 Marshall. 
 
 Art. 14. — The election for officers, all of whom shall be 
 members of the Society, shall be holden at the annual meeting, 
 and their election shall be by ballot. 
 
 Art. 15. — The officers of the Society shall hold office for one 
 year, or until their successors have been elected and qualified. 
 
 PRKSIDENT. 
 
 Art.. 16. — The President shall preside at the meetings of the 
 Society, and of the Board of Trustees. He shall preserve order 
 and decorum, and shall announce the order of business, and 
 decide questions, subject to an appeal by any two members. 
 He is also empowered to call a special meeting of the Society at 
 any time that it may in his opinion be deemed .necessary ; the 
 call to be made through the Secretary of the Society by written 
 or printed notice to each member. 
 
 VICE-PRESIDENT. 
 
 Art. 17. — The Vice-President shall preside and perform all 
 the duties of the office of the President in the absence or dis- 
 qualification of that officer ; and in the event of the death or 
 resignation of the President, he shall succeed him during the 
 remainder of his term. 
 
 SECRETARY. 
 
 Art. 18. — The Secretary shall keep a recorcUof all the pro- 
 ceedings of the Society, and Board of Trustees. He shall 
 record its Articles of Association in a book to be kept solely for 
 such purpose. He shall register the names of members, and 
 shall have charge of the roll of members. 
 
 He shall be responsible for the safe -keeping of all books of 
 record and papers belonging to the office of the Secretary. 
 
 He shall, whenever directed by the President, give the mem- 
 bers of the Society and Board of Trustees proper notice of all 
 meetings, and shall perform such other duties as may be assigned 
 to him by the Board of Trustees. 
 
-~o- « - 
 
 TREASURER. 
 
 Art. 19.— The Treasurer shall collect the admission fees, 
 and shall hoM all the money, evidences of indebtedness, and 
 valuable documents of the Society. He shall not pay any 
 money except upon an authorization signed by the President 
 or Vice-President of the Society. He shall make a report every 
 three months to the Board of Trustees, and exhibit in detail his 
 receipts and payments, and the balance in the Treasury, and if 
 invested, how, provided that the Treasurer is not authorized nor 
 are the Board of Trustees empowered to appropriate or direct 
 the payment of any money from the funds held by the Treas- 
 urer from membership fees. Such money shall be held as a per- 
 manent fund of the Society, the interest therefrom only to be at 
 the disposal of the Board of Trustees for the necessarily in- 
 curred expenses of the Society. 
 
 He shall keep a regular account of the financial affairs of the 
 Society, an abstract of which he shall exhibit, accompanied by 
 satisfactory vouchers, at each annual meeting of the Society ; at 
 the expiration of his term of office he shall deliver to his suc- 
 cessor all moneys, evidence of indebtedness, valuable docu- 
 ments, books, vouchers and other papers in his possession 
 belonging to the Society. 
 
 COUNCIL ON APPLICATIONS. 
 
 Art. 20. — The Council on Applications shall, upon the re- 
 ceipt of an application for membership, from the office of the 
 Secretary of the Society, make enquiry as to the moral character 
 and social standing of the applicant, and if the information 
 received by them be of a satisfactory nature, the application 
 shall be returned with the endorsment, Approved^ if to the con- 
 trary it shall be endorsed Rejected., and shall be signed by a 
 majority of the members of the Committee. 
 
 BOARD OF TRUSTEES. 
 
 Art. 21. — The Board of Trustees, which shall consist of the 
 President, Vice-President, Secretary and the five members of 
 the Council on Applications, shall meet for the transaction of 
 business at such time and place as the President of the Society 
 shall direct. 
 
-^♦-^ 
 
 A majority of the members of the Board shall constitute a 
 quorum to transact the business of the Society. 
 
 The Board shall have charge and control of the personal 
 property of the Society. 
 
 The Board shall direct the investment ^of the funds received 
 by the Treasurer from the membership fees, or from any special 
 donation to the permanent fund of the Society, in United States 
 Government Bonds, where the amount an the hands of the 
 Treasurer is sufficient for that purpose, such bonds to be 
 placed by the Board in a reliable Safe Deposit Company, not 
 to be withdrawn or appropriated except by the vote of two 
 thirds of the members present at an annual meeting of the 
 Society, the interest, however, derived from said bonds, to be 
 subject to appropriation by the Board for the current expenses 
 of the Society. 
 
 The Board is empowered to fill vacancies occurring in any 
 office (except that of President) or in the Council on Applica- 
 tions, until the next annual meeting. 
 
 The Board shall have power to appropriate the funds of the 
 Society, not otherwise prohibited, but shall not create any debt 
 or liability in the name of the Society, or in any manner use its 
 credit. 
 
 The Board shall examine all bills paid by the Treasurer, as 
 otherwise provided, at least once in every three months. 
 
 Art. 22. — These revised Articles shall take effect on and 
 after the first day of February, 1876. 
 
I i. 
 
 FIRST ANNUAL MEETING 
 
 AND 
 
 BANQUET 
 
 OF 
 
 The Associated Pioneers of the Territorial 
 Days of California, . 
 
 < HELD IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK: 
 
 TUESDAY EVENING, JAN. 18, 1876 i 
 
 The Twenty-Eighth Anniversary of the Discovery of Gold at 
 Sutter s Saw-Mill in California. 
 
 Gen. H. G. Gibson, U. S. A., John Sickels, 
 
 President. Vice-President. 
 
 Francis D. Clark, Secretary and Treasurer. 
 
 (SGrnncil on ^pplirations for P^tmbets^ip : 
 
 George Howes. John G. Hodge. 
 
 George F. Sniffen. James A. Sperry. 
 
 Cornelius Lydecker. 
 

 itfo forfe : 
 
 J:-. BARNES, STEAM BOOK AND JOB PRINTEH, !6 COETLANDT 8TBEET : 
 1876. 
 
RE-UNIONS 
 
 OLD CALIFORNIANS 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 In the pamphlet issued by the Society last year a complete 
 history of the origin of the re-unions of old Californians in the 
 city of New York was given ; yet, as many who may read this 
 one, may not have seen the other, it will not be inappropriate 
 to briefly recount the events that led to the organization of this 
 Society. 
 
 The annual re-union of old Californians, now residents of 
 the Atlantic Coast, was inaugurated on the evening of the 
 6th of March, 1872, at the residence of Mr. John Wolfe, on 
 West 23d Street, by a party of gentlemen, Mr. Wolfe's former 
 comrades in the regiment of New York Volunteers, which 
 landed on the Pacific Coast, in the month of March, 1847, 
 known as " Stevenson's California Regiment,'' and it was at 
 this, the first re-union, that the subject was discussed as to 
 the possibility of the organization of a "Society of California 
 Pioneers of the City of New York,'' the company present 
 numbered only ten, but it was midnight ere they separated, 
 so rapidly and pleasantly had the hours flown along. 
 
 In the month of March, 1873, the second re-union took 
 place, also at the residence of Mr. Wolfe. Upon this occasion 
 sixteen were present. 
 
On the 26th of March, 1874, the third re-union took place 
 at the Sturtevant House, the number present being forty- 
 seven, thirty-eight of whom were CaUfornia pioneers. 
 
 On the nth of February, 1875, the fourth re-union occurred, 
 also at the Sturtevant House. The number present was 
 seventy-four, sixty-two of whom were former residents of the 
 Golden State. And it was on this evening that the organiza- 
 tion of this Society was perfected, but the lateness of the hour, 
 almost past midnight, when a large*number of the guests had 
 taken their departure, prevented the enrollment of more than 
 twenty-four; but still this number was sufficient to guarantee 
 the success of the movement. 
 
 Tuesday evening, the i8th of January, 1876, the 28th anni- 
 versary of the discovery of gold at Sutter's Saw-mill in Cali- 
 fornia, witnessed another .gathering of Californians at the 
 Sturtevant House. It was the fifth re-union of the pioneers 
 of California, or the first annual banquet under the auspices of 
 this Society ; and certainly the large number present, nearly 
 one hundred Californians, was an auspicious opening for a 
 society only eleven months in existence. Thus, from the small 
 number of ten, at the first re-union, the number had increased 
 to nearly one hundred upon this last occasion. 
 
 The objects and expectations of the society are fully set 
 forth in other portions of this pamphlet, the realization of 
 which must, in a large measure, depend upon the encourage- 
 ment given to it by the Californians now residents of this city, 
 as also by those residing in neighboring States. The organ- 
 ization appeals to the sympathy and support not only of all 
 these, but also of many others now high in rank and honor 
 in our country. The President of the United States, the 
 General of the Army, many officers of high rank in both the 
 Army and Navy, a Justice of the Supreme Court — who were 
 Californians of early days, we may justly claim as belonging to 
 us, confident that they feel the same pride as ourselves in their 
 association with the Golden State. 
 
 California may well feel proud of the record made by her 
 pioneers in the late civil war. Not only in the Army and 
 Navy did they hold positions of the highest responsibility, but 
 also in the councils of the nation ; and among the first to give 
 up his life in the struggle was the lamented Gen. Nathaniel 
 
 ^I- 
 
Lyon, a pioneer of 1849; while another general, E. D. Baker, 
 fell leading his command at Ball's Bluff. And although Cali- 
 fornia was far distant from the strife, she was nobly represented 
 by two gallant regiments, organized in the City of New York, 
 and officered almost entirely by early pioneers of California. 
 
 The New England Society every where celebrates with 
 pride and enthusiasm the landing of the Pilgrims on Plymouth 
 Rock ; why should not likewise the pioneers of California, who 
 were the advance guard in the establishment and subjugation, 
 peaceful and otherwise, of a noble Empire on the Pacific, and 
 , whose trials and struggles were scarcely less severe, celebrate 
 with glad and proud rejoicings the most fruitful event in our 
 history — the discovery of gold in California. 
 
 " What sougtit they thus afar ? 
 Bright jewels of the mine," — 
 
 unlike the -Pilgrim Fathers, but bearing with them the same 
 " Freedom to worship God," 
 
 and the rich inheritance of American law and civilization, 
 achieving results as glorious and as worthy of commemo- 
 ration. 
 
ANNUAL MEETING. 
 
 The first annual meeting of the Society was held in Parlors 
 Nos. 20 and 21 of the Sturtevant House, on Tuesday evening, 
 January i8th, 1876. 
 
 The President, Gen. H. G. Gibson, called the meeting to 
 order at 7 o'clock. 
 
 Mr. Sickels, Vice-President, moved that the calling of the 
 roll be dispensed with. Carried. 
 
 The President then read to the Society the following 
 Report : 
 
 Gentlemen of the Association : 
 
 The short time before our annual banquet enables me to 
 make only a brief report of the progress of the Association 
 since its organization last year. From reports of your worthy 
 Secretary, made to me from time to time, I cannot say that our 
 success has been as encouraging as was hoped for, but still we 
 have some cause for congratulation. 
 
 The objects and purposes for which we have associated are. 
 First, an annual social re-union and banquet ; and. Second, the 
 establishment of a club-room and museum for California and 
 Californians. The first object has been accomplished only by 
 the earnest and laborious exertions of your Trustees and a few 
 others, and by their personal and urgent solicitations of Cali- 
 fornians, and others connected by association or interest with 
 California. With purposes so commendable as those stated I 
 trust that every member of the Association, every Californian 
 in New York and vicinity, will endeavor to promote our success 
 by his personal efforts and contributions. Our association should 
 be self-sustaining, and certainly so far as our annual re-union is 
 concerned, we should not depend upon aid from others. I there- 
 fore suggest that two committees be appointed, one to make the 
 
necessary arrangements for the gathering and banquet of next 
 year, and the other to devise and put into operation some plan 
 for the opening of a club-room and museum. Let it be on ever 
 so small a scale, a start should be made, and notice duly given 
 that we have provided a home for all Californians residing 
 in or visiting the City of New York. Success can be at- 
 tained only by the zealous and diligent labors of individual 
 members ; and the objects and purposes of the Association are 
 certainly worthy of the effort. The god Hercules, as we know 
 from the fable of ^sop, helps those only who put their own 
 shoulders to the wheel. 
 
 Your Secretary has furnished me with some data and sugges- 
 tions, and embodying these in this hasty report, I will now 
 close with an earnest appeal to you all to labor without ceasing, 
 and success will surely crown our exertions. 
 
 First : I would respectfully call your attention to the want of 
 an appropriate Certificate of Membership. 
 
 Second : It is understood to be the intention of the several 
 societies of California Pioneers on the Pacific Coast to assemble 
 at Philadelphia in the coming July, upon the occasion of the 
 Centennial Exposition, and I would, therefore recommend that 
 a committee be appointed to make arrangements for meeting 
 with them ; and also to take measures for procuring a suitable 
 emblem or flag, as also a device or design for a badge, to dis- 
 tinguish the members of the Association. 
 
 Third : The necessity for a Headquarters for this city, 
 during the present Centennial year should also receive atten- 
 tion. CaliforniaBS visiting this city- would thereby be enabled 
 to meet with their former associates of the Golden State ; and 
 no doubt a favorable arrangement for this purpose could be 
 effected with the proprietors of one of the hotels, which would 
 be mutually advantageous. This should be done, even if a 
 club-room, before suggested, cannot be established. 
 
 H. G. GIBSON, President. 
 New York, January i8th, i8y6. 
 
i 
 
 
 < 
 
 At the conclusion of the President's Report, the Secretary 
 presented and read the following Report ; 
 
 New York, January iSth, i8j6. 
 
 (ten. H. G. Gibson, U. S. A., 
 
 President of" The Aisociated Pioneers of the Territorial Days of California." 
 
 Netv Tork, City, — 
 
 Sir : 
 
 I have the honor to submit the following Report as Secretary : 
 
 On Thursday evening, the nth of February, i875,the organi- 
 zation of this Society was perfected, and twenty-four members 
 were enrolled ; since which time thirty-six additional names 
 have been added, making a total of sixty members, at this date. 
 Many others have also expressed an intention to become mem- 
 bers at an early day. 
 
 Since the organization of the Society there has been held 
 three special meetings. The first, September 13th, the second, 
 November 15th, and the third, December 23d, which meetings 
 have, through the generosity of the Messrs. Leland, been called 
 at the Sturtevant House. 
 
 It is with a feeling of thankfulness towards God that I am 
 able to report that no death has occurred among our associates. 
 
 The pamphlet published by the Society in the month of June 
 last, as also circulars issued in its interest and welfare, have 
 been mailed to some three hundred former Californians, now 
 residents of the Atlantic States, from many of whom letters of 
 encouragement, and expressing great interest in the success of 
 the Society, have been received. The depressed condition of 
 business, and the disturbed state of the various channels of 
 industry, have to a certain degree retarded our prosperity. 
 
 Agreeably to the wishes expressed by the members of the 
 Society, there has been opened in the office of the Secretary a 
 Register containing the names and address of all former Cali- 
 fornians known to reside east of the Missouri River; and 
 additional names will be added whenever they are received. 
 
 Of the present members of the Society, four are residents of 
 New Jersey, one of Maryland, three of Pennsylvania, one of 
 Rhinebeck, N. Y., one an officer of the U. S. Navy, and three, 
 officers of the U. S. Army. The years of their arrival in Cali- 
 fornia are as follows: one in 1833, one in 1839, two in 1846, 
 five ill 1847, two in 1848, thirty-two in 1849, eleven in 1850; 
 
as also six Honorary members whose arrival in California dated 
 subsequent to the admission of the State. 
 
 I cannot too strongly urge upon our associates the necessity 
 of their personal exertions and influence towards the increase 
 of our membership, with the view of bringing together the old 
 pioneer element of the early days of California in one social 
 union. The re-unions of old CaHfornians which have been held 
 in this city during the past three winters demonstrate that with 
 zealous efforts the time is not far distant when our Society will 
 become worthy of those now on the Pacific Coast. 
 
 FRANCIS D. CLARK, Secretary. 
 
 On motion of Mr. Hodge the Reports of the President and 
 Secretary were received. 
 
 The Report of Mr. Clark, as Treasurer, was then read. And 
 on motion of Mr. Evans was accepted. 
 
 The Secretary read a communication received from Mr. J. W. 
 Simonton, in which he tendered his resignation as a member of 
 the Society. 
 
 Mr. Sickels moved that the communication be laid on the 
 table. Carried. 
 
 Mr. Burton moved that a committee of two be appointed to 
 confer with Mr. Simonton on the subject; and suggested that 
 the President and Mr. Farwell be appointed said committee. 
 Adopted. 
 
 Mr. Farwell offered for the consideration of the meeting a set 
 of revised " Articlers of Association," to be substituted for those 
 now in force. The Secretary having read the same, they were 
 unanimously adopted, to take effect on the ist day of February, 
 1876. 
 
 Mr. Curtis moved that the Society now proceed to the elec- 
 tion of officers for the ensuing year. 
 
 Mr. Pierson moved that the ballot be dispensed with, and that 
 the officers of the past year be declared re-elected for the en- 
 suing year. Unanimously adopted. 
 
 Mr. Butler moved that Messrs. George Howes, John G. 
 Hodge, George F. Sniffin, James A. Sperry and Cornelius Ly- 
 decker, be declared elected members of the " Council on Appli- 
 cations " for the ensuing year, in accordance with the revised 
 "Articles of Association." Carried. 
 
Mr. Hawkins moved for the appointment, by the President, 
 of a committee to take into consideration the visit of tlie So- 
 ciety to the Centennial Exposition at Philadelphia during the 
 coming summer, there to meet their brethren from the societies 
 of the Pacific Coast. Adopted. 
 
 The President appointed Generals Hooker, Merchant and 
 Sutter, Commander Meade, ex-Governor R. M. Price, Hon. R. 
 H. McKune, Messrs. Crowell, Burton, Wethered, Colligan, 
 Meredith and Capt. Merryman, said Committee. 
 
 Mr. McKune moved, that the suggestion of the President 
 regarding a suitable flag for the Society, as also badge to be 
 worn by the members be referred to a committee, with full 
 powers to act in the premises, and that that officer designate 
 said committee. Adopted. 
 
 The President designated Commander Meade, Messrs. Wal- 
 ton, Sperry, Johns and Joseph S. Spinney. 
 
 Mr. Clark moved the appointment of a Committee by the 
 President, with instructions to see what arrangements can be 
 effected towards the establishment of a permanent Headquarters 
 for the Society during the ensuing year; the committee to 
 report to the Board of Trustees the result of their labors. 
 Adopted. 
 
 The President appointed Messrs. Leese, Curtis, Pierson, Ellis, 
 Pinto, Sperry, Johns, Sherwood and Lydecker. 
 
 Mr. Sickels moved, that the Society consider the suggestion 
 of the President regarding the appointment of a committee to 
 make the necessary arrangements for the next annual meeting ; 
 said committee to be empowered to adopt such plan as in their 
 judgment may conduce to its success and that of the Society, 
 the President to appoint said Committee. Adopted. 
 
 The President selected Messrs. Farwell, Hodge, Nuttman, 
 Anthony, Annan, S. L. Merchant, Hawkins, Howes, Johns, 
 Wolfe and Laimbeer as members of the Committee. 
 
 Messrs. Spinney and McKune introduced to the meeting 
 Messrs. Joseph M. Pray, Joseph Spinney, Alfred T. Goodell, 
 WiUiam N. Monies and Michael McCann, who were duly en- 
 rolled as members of the Society. 
 
 Mr. Johns moved, that the thanks of the Society be and they 
 are hereby tendered to the Board of Trustees for the faitliful 
 discharge of their duties during the past year, and the untiring 
 
zeal manifested by these gentlemen in the interest and welfare 
 of the Society. 
 
 The hour of the Banquet having been reached, and there 
 being no further business to engage the attention of the meeting, 
 on motion of Mr. Lydecker, it was adjourned until January 
 i8th, 1877. 
 
 FRANCIS D.. CLARK, Secretary. 
 
 ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION. 
 
 Article i. — This Society shall be known by the name of 
 "The Associated Pioneers ofthe Territorial Days of California," 
 and is declared to be a social organization. Its objects are to 
 form a more perfect union of the Pioneers of California, now 
 residents of the Atlantic States, and to cultivate social inter- 
 course between them. 
 
 Art. 2. — To collect and preserve historical facts and infor- 
 mation, in connection with the early and subsequent history of 
 the Pacific Coast. 
 
 Art. 3. — To perpetuate the memory of those whose wisdom, 
 valor and enterprise advanced civilization to the shores of the 
 Pacific. 
 
 Art. 4. — It shall be the duty, as it will be the interest, of 
 every member of the Society to use all laudable efforts to collect 
 and procure such relics, incidents and facts connected with the 
 history and settlement of California, as may be interesting and 
 useful to the Society ; and so soon as it is prepared to provide 
 for the care of the same, donations of such articles and infor- 
 mation will be received. 
 
 Art. 5. — It is declared to be the further purpose ofthe So- 
 ciety, at such period as the financial strength of its treasury will 
 warrant, to support a permanent hall in the City of New York, 
 
which shall contain the journals and periodicals of the Golden 
 State, a library for the diffusion of useful knowledge among its 
 members, a museum containing valuable records of interest and 
 curiosities pertaining to the early days of Cahfornia ; as also a 
 Headquarters for residents of California visiting this city. 
 
 Art. 6. — All persons who were for any period in California 
 prior to the 9th day of September, 1850, (the date of the admis- 
 sion of the State of California into the Union,) all who served 
 in the Navy of the United States on the Coast of California 
 during the conquest of that then Mexican Territory, and the 
 male descendants of all such, of lawful age, shall be eligible to 
 membership. 
 
 Art. 7. — All persons whose residence in California dated 
 subsequent to the 9th day of September, 1850, and who were 
 residents of the State for the period of one year, shall be eligi- 
 ble to Honorary Membership on the same terms as other mem- 
 bers, and shall be entitled to all the privileges of the Society, 
 except to vote and hold office ; provided however that this 
 section shall in no wise change the status of the Honorary 
 members who were enrolled prior to the adoption of these 
 revised Articles of Association. 
 
 Art. 8. — Any person qualified as prescribed in the two fore- 
 going sections, desiring to become a member, shall make appli- 
 cation to the Secretary of the Society, giving name, place of 
 residence, occupation, and date of his arrival, or that of his 
 ancestor, in California ; and within ten days after the receipt of 
 such application the Secretary shall transmit the same to the 
 chairman of the " Council on Applications,'' and upon the 
 return of the application by the council, as approved, the Sec- 
 retary shall notify the applicant of his election. 
 
 Art. 9. — All applicants for membership to this Society must 
 be men of good character and gentlemanly deportment, and in 
 every way entitled to the respect and confidence of the Asso- 
 ciated Pioneers ; and in any case where the facts obtained by 
 the Council on Applications are to the contrary, the a,pplica- 
 tion shall be rejected. 
 
Art. io. — Each person, on admission as a member of the 
 Society, shall pay into its treasury the sum of ten dollars, and 
 without the payment of any further dues whatsoever ; and shall 
 sign the Articles of Association with his name in full, and the 
 day of the month and year of his arrival in California ; and if any 
 person residing in the City of New York, for two months after 
 his notification by the Secretary of his election, or if residing 
 outside of the City of New York, for three months after 
 said notification, shall neglect to pay his membership fee, and 
 sign the Articles of Association, he shall be considered as 
 having declined to become a member ; provided however that 
 a pioneer whose residence in California dated prior to the i8th 
 of January, 1848, the date of the discovery of gold at Sutter's 
 Saw-Mill, shall be by vote of two-thirds of the members present 
 at an annual meeting of the Society admitted to membership 
 without payment of the stipulated fee. 
 
 Art. ii.-^Any member who shall be accused of moral tur- 
 pitude or misconduct, inconsistent with his obligations as a 
 member of the Society, or who shall make a false representation 
 of the time of his arrival in California, shall be notified to appear 
 before the Board of Trustees, and if found guilty, shall be re- 
 primanded or expelled by said Board, and notice thereof shall 
 be given to the members by the Board, through the Secretary, 
 stating the reason of said action : provided, the member shall 
 have the right to appeal to the next annual meeting of the So- 
 ciety, by filing in the Secretary's office notice of his intention 
 so to appeal within one month after the service upon him of the 
 notice of the judgment of the Board. And unless the decision 
 of the Board be affirmed by a vote of a majority of the members 
 present, the action of the Board shall be of no effect. 
 
 Art. 12. — The officers of the Society shall consist of a Pres- 
 ident, Vice-President, Secretary (who shall 'also be Treasurer) 
 and a Council on Applications, to consist of five members. 
 These eight shall constitute ex-officio the Board of Trustees ; 
 and shall have the executive management and direction of the 
 Society. 
 
 Art. 13. — The annual meeting of the Society shall be held 
 
 13 
 
on the Eighteenth day of January, that being the anniversary 
 of the discovery of gold at Sutter's Saw-Mill by James W. 
 Marshall. 
 
 Art. 14. — The election for officers, all of whom shall be 
 members of the Society, shall be holden at the annual meeting, 
 and their election shall be by ballot. 
 
 Art. 15. — The officers of the Society shall hold office for one 
 year, or until their successors have been elected and qualified. 
 
 PRESIDENT. 
 
 Art. 16. — The President shall preside at the meetings of the 
 Society, and of the Board of Trustees. He shall preserve order 
 and decorum, and shall announce the order of business, and 
 decide questions, subject to an appeal by any two members. 
 He is also empowered to call a special meeting of the Society at 
 any time that it may in his opinion be deemed necessary ; the 
 call to be made through the Secretary of the Society by written 
 or printed notice to each member. 
 
 VICE-PRESIDENT. 
 
 Art. 17. — The Vice-President shall preside and perform all 
 the duties of the office of the President in the absence or dis- 
 qualification of that officer ; and in the event of the death or 
 resignation of the President, he shall succeed him during the 
 remainder of his term. 
 
 SECRETARY. 
 
 Art. 18. — The Secretary shall keep a record of all the pro- 
 ceedings of the Society, and Board of Trustees. He shall 
 record its Articles of Association in a book to be kept solely for 
 such purpose. He shall register the names of members, and 
 shall have charge of the roll of members. 
 
 He shall be responsible for the safe-keeping of all books of 
 record and papers belonging to the office of the Secretary. 
 
 He shall, whenever directed by the President, give the mem- 
 bers of the Society and Board of Trustees proper notice of all 
 meetings, and shall perform such other duties as may be assigned 
 to him by the Board of Trustees. 
 
 14 
 
-^♦-^ 
 
 TREASURER. 
 
 Art. 19. — The Treasurer shall collect the admission fees, 
 and shall hold all the money, evidences of indebtedness, and 
 valuable documents of the Society. He shall not pay any 
 money except upon an authorization signed by the President 
 or Vice-President of the Society. He shall make a report every 
 three months to the Board of Trustees, and exhibit in detail his 
 receipts and payments, and the balance in the Treasury, and if 
 invested, how, provided that the Treasurer is not authorized nor 
 are the Board of Trustees empowered to appropriate or direct 
 the payment of any money from the funds held by the Treas- 
 urer from membership fees. Such money shall be held as a per- 
 manent fund of the Society, the interest therefrom only to be at 
 the disposal of the Board of Trustees for the necessarily in- 
 curred expenses of the Society. 
 
 He shall keep a regular account of the financial affairs of the 
 Society, an abstract of which he shall exhibit, accompanied by 
 satisfactory vouchers, at each annual meeting of the Society ; at 
 the expiration of his term of office he shall deliver to his suc- 
 cessor all moneys, evidence of indebtedness, valuable docu- 
 ments, books, vouchers and other papers in his possession 
 belonging to the Society. 
 
 COUNCIL ON APPLICATIONS. 
 
 Art. 20. — The Council on Applications shall, upon the re- 
 ceipt of an application for membership, from the office of the 
 Secretary of the Society, make enquiry as to the moral character 
 and social standing of the applicant, and if the information 
 received by them be of a satisfactory nature, the application 
 shall be returned with the endorsment. Approved, if to the con- 
 trary it shall be endorsed Rejected, and shall be signed by a 
 majority of the members of the Committee. 
 
 BOARD OF TRUSTEES. 
 
 Art. 21. — The Board of Trustees, which shall consist of the 
 President, Vice-President, Secretary and the five members of 
 the Council on Applications, shall meet for the transaction of 
 business at such time and place as the President of the Society 
 shall direct. 
 
 IS 
 
A majority of the members of the Board shall constitute a 
 quorum to transact the business of the Society. 
 
 The Board shall have charge and control of the personal 
 property of the Society. 
 
 The Board shall direct the investment of the funds received 
 by the Treasurer from the membership fees, or from any special 
 donation to the permanent fund of the Society, in United States 
 Government Bonds, where the amount in the hands of the 
 Treasurer is sufficient for that purpose, such bonds to be 
 placed by the Board in a reliable Safe Deposit Company, not 
 to be withdrawn or appropriated except by the vote of two 
 thirds of the members present at an annual meeting of the 
 Society, the interest, however, derived from said bonds, to be 
 subject to appropriation by the Board for the current expenses 
 of the Society. 
 
 The Board is empowered to fill vacancies occurring in any 
 office (except that of President) or in the Council on Applica- 
 tions, until the next annual meeting. 
 
 The Board shall have power to appropriate the funds of the 
 Society, not otherwise prohibited, but shall not create any debt 
 or liability in the name of the Society, or in any manner use its 
 credit. 
 
 The Board shall examine all bills paid by the Treasurer, as 
 otherwise provided, at least once in every three months. 
 
 Art. 22. — These revised Articles shall take effect on and 
 after the first day of February, 1876. 
 
 16 
 
ROLL OF MEMBERS. 
 
 Jacob. P. Leese, 
 
 1833- 
 . 257 Broadway, N. Y. 
 
 1839- 
 Gen. John A. Sutter, . . . Litiz, Lancaster Co., Penn. 
 
 Hon. Rodman M. Price. 
 William Colligan, . . . 
 
 1846. 
 
 . Oakland, Bergen Co., N. J. 
 . 58 Monroe St. N. Y. 
 
 1847. — (Stevenson's Reg't.) 
 
 Lieut. Jeremiah Sherwood, 
 John Wolfe, ... 
 Russell Myers,. 
 Francis D. Clark, . . 
 Joseph Evans, . . . . 
 James E. Nuttman, . . 
 
 1 172 Broadway, N. Y. 
 114 West 23d St. N. Y. 
 3 West 27th St., N. Y. 
 16 Cortlandt St., N. Y, 
 70 High St., Newark, N. J. 
 Newark, N. J. 
 
 James S. Wethered, 
 
 1848. 
 . 257 Broadway, N. Y. 
 
 1849. 
 
 Gen. Joseph Hooker, U. S. A., Hot Springs, Arkansas. 
 
 Gen. H. G. Gibson, " Fort Wadsworth, N. Y. Harbor. 
 
 Com'rRich'dW.Meade,U.S.N., Navy Yard, Brooklyn, N. Y. 
 
 William C. Annan, . . .160 Fulton St., N. Y. 
 
 Edward R. Anthony, ... 70 Wall St., N. Y. 
 
 Edward F. Burton, . Dep. Surveyor of Customs, N.Y. 
 
 Mark Brumagin, 9 Nassau St., N. Y. 
 
 17 
 
♦ ♦ 
 
 1 849. — Continued. 
 
 William M. Burgoyne, 
 Oscar P. Blackman, . 
 Russell W. Benedict, 
 Edgar W. Crowell, . 
 Robert W. Bowling, . 
 John S. Ellis, . . . 
 Willard B. Farwell, . 
 John Gault, . . 
 H. B. Hawkins, . 
 John H. Harris, . 
 John G. Hodge, . 
 John J. Hager, 
 S. D. Jones, 
 George H. Johnson 
 John Laimbeer, . 
 Cornelius Lydecker, 
 Hon. Robert H. McKune, 
 Gilmor Meredith, . 
 Francis E. Pinto, . 
 Oliver H. Pierson, 
 John Sickels, . 
 Joseph S. Spinney, 
 A. A. Selover, . . 
 George F. Sniffin, 
 Michael J. Shandley, 
 James A. Sperry, . 
 William M. Walton, 
 Joseph M. Pray, . 
 Alfred T. Goodell, 
 Michael McCann, 
 
 6 Wall St., N. Y. 
 
 33 Murray St., N. Y. 
 
 102 Wall St., N. Y. 
 
 178 Broadway, N. Y. 
 
 105th St. and nth Ave., N. Y. 
 
 96 Wail St., N. Y. 
 
 124 East S9th St., N. Y. 
 
 71 Broadway, N. Y. 
 
 69 Wall St., N. Y. 
 
 78 Broadway, N. Y 
 
 59 John St., N. Y. 
 
 Rhinebeck, Dutchess Co., N. Y. 
 
 48 Pine St., N. Y. 
 
 777 Broadway, N. Y. 
 
 245 West 50th St., N. Y. 
 
 Englewood, N. J. 
 
 Scranton, Penn. 
 
 Baltimore, Md. 
 
 io6 Wall St., N. Y. 
 
 5 Pine St., N. Y. 
 
 40 East 74th St., N. Y. 
 
 66^ Pine St., N. Y. 
 
 17 Broad St., N. Y. 
 
 239 Broadway, N. Y. 
 
 189 Henry St., N. Y. 
 
 145 Broadway, N. Y. 
 
 43 South St., Newark, N. J. 
 
 179 Montague St., B'klyn, N. Y. 
 
 451 East 57th St., N. Y. 
 
 621 Eleventh Avenue, N. Y. 
 
 1850. (Previous to Sept. 9th.) 
 
 James F. Curtis, . 
 Thomas' D. Johns, 
 Enoch Gove, . 
 Beverly C. Sanders, 
 George Howes, 
 John A. Godfrey, 
 
 45 Warren St., N. Y. 
 
 95 Liberty St., N. Y. 
 
 176 Amity St., Brooklyn, N. Y. 
 
 71 Broadway, N. Y. 
 
 117 Wall St., N. Y. 
 
 240 Broadway, N. Y. 
 
\ 
 
 
 
 ._ 
 
 
 
 
 ■ 
 
 
 1850. (Previous 
 
 to Sept. 9th.) — Continued. 
 
 
 
 George W. Stanton, . . 
 C. C. Hastings, . . 
 Joseph Spinney, . . 
 
 . Sturtevant House, N. Y. 
 . SI West 46th St., N. Y. 
 . 338 Pearl St., Brooklyn, N. Y. 
 
 
 
 HONORARY MEMBERS. 
 
 
 
 Date of arrival in California subsequent to Sept. 9th, 1850. 
 
 
 
 
 1850. 
 
 
 
 Gen. Chas. S. Merchant, U. S. A., Carlisle, Pa. 
 Stephen L. Merchant, . . 76 South St., N. Y. 
 Charles R. Thompson, ... 73 Broadway, N. Y. 
 
 
 
 
 1851. 
 
 
 
 James W. Simonton, . . 
 
 . Wes. Un. Tel. Building, N. Y. 
 1852. 
 
 
 
 James H. Butler, .... 
 James H. Merryman, . . 
 Charles W. Schumann, . 
 William N. Monies, . . 
 
 . 9 Maiden Lane, N. Y. 
 . 16 Broadway, N. Y. 
 . 42 and 44 Nassau St., N. Y. 
 . Scranton, Pa. 
 
 1859. 
 
 
 
 George W. Gilbert, . . 
 
 r 108 Broadway, N. Y. 
 1862. 
 
 
 
 Lewis Leland, .... 
 
 c 
 
 . Sturtevant House, N. Y. 
 
 
 
 ■ 
 
 -» ^ — ^ 
 
 «9 
 
 -^- 
 
THE BANQUET. 
 
 At half-past eight o'clock the company, which thronged the 
 parlors, headed by President Gibson, with Ex-Governor R. M. 
 Price, and Vice-President Sickles, with Ex-Mayor Vance, of 
 this city, marched to the accompaniment of the band through 
 the main hall of the hotel, which was profusely decorated with 
 bunting. At the entrance to the dining hall stodd a large Gat- 
 tling gun mounted on a carriage, on either side of which was a 
 stack of muskets and rifles, and surrounding these was a fine 
 floral display. Within the dining hall the view that met the eye 
 was one to cheer the heart of every pioneer present. From the 
 walls and ceiling hung the flags of almost every nation, while on 
 the large columns in the centre of the hall hung pick-axes, 
 shovels, crow-bars, tin pans, miners' long boots, bowie knives, 
 revolvers, and many other articles familiar to the early mining 
 days of California. 
 
 On the walls were two fine paintings of the well-known steam- 
 boats "Senator" and "New World," of Sacramento fame, fine 
 lithographs of "San Francisco in 1849," "Marysville in 1853," 
 "Sacramento City during the great flood." At the head of the 
 hall, beneath the flags of Mexico and the United States, hung 
 the photographs of two of Cahfornia's honored citizens. General 
 John A. Sutter, the veteran pioneer, and the Hon. PhiHp A. 
 Roach, the last Alcalde of Monterey, and one of the present 
 Senators of San Francisco. Above the photographs was a fine 
 painting representing General Washington standing beside his 
 war steed. Emblems appropriate to the occasion were to be 
 seen on every side, one of which attracted considerable atten- 
 tion from the guests and the members of the press, was, " The 
 
mining prices of the winter of 1848-9." Others were names of 
 deceased officers of the Army who served on that coast during 
 the conquest of California. Those of the Navy. Officers of 
 the Army now living, who served in California during the 
 Mexican War. Officers of the Navy now living, who served on 
 the Coast of California during its conquest. Vessels of the 
 Navy in service on the Coast during 1846-7. Old California 
 towns south of San Francisco. Old California towns north of 
 San Francisco. Names of familiar mining camps of 1849-50. 
 One was in compliment to the enterprise exhibited by a promi- 
 nent shipping firm of San Francisco, and read, " The fastest 
 ship, ' Voung America.' " " The largest ship, ' Three Brothers.'" 
 A large number of others referring to events, organizations, 
 persons, &c., causing the memory of many present to revert to 
 days long passed, and hours of toil, privations, triumphs, and 
 pleasures pertaining to their early experiences in the modern 
 El Dorado. 
 
 The tables were arranged so as not to interfere witli the col- 
 umns, three running lengthwise of the hall, and one across the 
 head, at which were seated the guests, with the President in the 
 centre, the Vice-President on the left end, and, the Secretary 
 opposite. .\mong the ornamentations of the table was a 
 California mining and hunting scene. California Sentinel. 
 Ship California, 1849. Navy Artillery. Centennial Bell. 
 Goddess of Liberty. While the Menu announced California 
 Salmon, California Turkey, Russian River Bacon, California 
 Quail, California Venison, with California Currant Jelly, Cali- 
 fornia Olives, and from the vineyards of the Golden State 
 were wines of almost every description ; and, as a fitting ac- 
 companiment to a California dinner were the one thousand 
 cigars presented to the Society by the officers of the Consoli- 
 dated Tobacco Company, which among the assembled company 
 received due honor and appreciation. In fact, owing to their 
 superior quality and flavor, many at first doubted that they 
 ■were manufactured from tobacco raised exclusively in Cali- 
 fornia, proving that the Golden State excels in luxuries as well 
 as in the staple articles of life. 
 
 The dinner having been disposed of, next in order were the 
 regular toasts. Before announcing these the President made 
 the following address : 
 
Fellow Californians : 
 
 It affords me infinite pleasure to greet you again on this oc- 
 casion of our annual social gathering and re-union ; and since 
 we have discussed the sumptuous fare provided by "mine host 
 of our inn," it behoves and becomes us now to enjoy that "feast 
 of reason and flow of soul " which accompanies good cheer and 
 genial good-fellowship. With then 
 
 " The wine in our goblets gleaming," 
 
 and whilst recalling the cherished memories which cluster 
 around the scenes and associations of our California life, lef us 
 offer to-night our incense of praise and honor to the Golden 
 State in the fullest measure, and with the choicest fragrance that 
 the ever-glowing embers of our pride and affection can bestow 
 and dispense. Let us never forget that we are sons ; exiled it may 
 be forever, yet looking back with fond eyes and grateful hearts 
 to her nurture of our youth and early manhood, rude and harsh 
 though it may have been as the rough nurture of Romulus and 
 Remus by the wolf. From the uncouth nurture of the savage 
 wolf sprang Rome, "the mistress of the world;" from the 
 rough nurture of California's savage wilds, may not likewise in 
 after generations spring a race of heroes, whose achievement 
 shall dim the lustre of Roman glory and of Roman conquest ? 
 For does not California's wonderful progress in her brief career 
 give a bright promise of a still more illustrious and successful 
 future ? 
 
 The varied thoughts and mingled emotions which throng to 
 the lips at the name of California come too thick and fast for 
 utterance. No language at my command can give expression 
 to them, but 
 
 " Uttered or unexpressed," 
 
 they will be appreciated and understood by all who shared with 
 us the toils and trials, the dangers and delights of early Califor- 
 nia days. We have stood together in her lofty forests, and on 
 her snow-crowned 
 
 " hills whose heads touch heaven." 
 We have basked together in the sunshine of her vine-clad plains 
 
and valleys, where the " crystal flood " from heaven, mingling 
 with her soil 
 
 " Was changed to purple by our Lord ;" * 
 
 And like 
 
 " the red Mustang 
 Whose clusters hang 
 O'er the waves of the Colorado, 
 And the fiery flood 
 Of whose purple blood 
 Has a dash of Spanish bravado," 
 
 corrected by the flavor of true American courage. We have 
 journeyed together 
 
 " In the fair and yellow morn. 
 Among her leagues of gleaming corn ;" 
 
 and contributed, too, our measure of "wild oats" to the already 
 bountiful profusion of Nature. We have toiled together in her 
 mountain gorges, delved together amid her rocks and streams, 
 and down deep in the bowels of the earth to bring forth the 
 treasures which have enriched the world, and made our country 
 great and prosperous. 
 
 We are told that the name of California comes to us from the 
 dim vista of the Middle Ages — from the tales of the Crusaders, 
 who, fired by religious zeal, performed in the rescue of the Holy 
 Sepulchre from the Saracen, 
 
 " Such deeds of valor strong 
 That neither history nor song 
 Can count them all ;'' 
 
 and whose display of the ennobling virtues of knightly chivalry 
 have been the glowing theme of the poet, the artist and the 
 historian. May the future annals of California show that she 
 does not dishonor the origin of her name ; but inspired by all 
 that is worthy and of good report in the example of these an- 
 cient Knights of Christendom, with 
 
 * On a social occasion, at Bogen's Vineyard, near Cincinnati, in July, 1863, the 
 poet-painter, T. Buchanan Read, recited some original stanzas, from which this expres- 
 sion is quoted. On publication this quaint and happy conceit, which ran, I think, 
 thus, was omitted : 
 
 ** Who with water would dilute his blood 1 
 Remember that the crystal flood 
 Was changed to purple by our Lord." 
 
 23 
 
" Pennon and stanilarrl flaiinthi'r high. 
 And flag displaytrl," 
 
 may she ever stand in the foremost rank of every crusade for 
 the possession and security of our Hberties — for the glory and 
 welfare of our Republic. 
 
 Bayard Taylor once said, that the free air and vast expanse 
 of the Arabian desert enlarged his powers of imagination and 
 exaggeration, so that he found himself — I put it in a mild form 
 — dropping, like Silas Wegg, into poetry of the most extravagant 
 Arabic style. So it may be said that the peculiar life, cHmate, 
 and scenery of California have developed a new expression and 
 character in American literature and humor, and opened to the 
 admiration of the world a rare casket of genius, whose gems are 
 rich and unique in quality, charm and brilliancy. Need I 
 name to you John Phcenix, "a fellow infinite jest, of most excel- 
 lent fancy," whose "flashes of merriment were wont to set the 
 table on a roar," or who with "the pen of a ready writer" pro- 
 voked our audible smiles, and gave us a new source of enjoyment, 
 a new sensation of pleasure in early California times. Or those 
 like him gathered to their fathers — Artemus Ward and RoSs 
 Browne ; and still living to charm and delight us, our honored 
 guest, Joaquin Miller ; and also Mark Twain, Bret Harte, and 
 Bayard Taylor; for they all have the true ring and color of the 
 rich metal from California's golden veins. 
 
 The legendary goddess of California, portrayed on her escut- 
 cheon, leaped full armed from the brain of Jove ; so from the 
 bosom of California sprang a host of warriors, gallant sons of 
 Mars, brave sons of Nejjtune — in full armor for the mightiest 
 conflict of our age. I will not detain you by recounting their 
 names, honors and services, for they are written in the briUiant 
 chronicles of the great war, and their names and humbler ser- 
 vices on every page of California's early history, and will, no 
 doubt, receive the full meed of honorable mention and encomium 
 in response to the appropriate toast of the evening. 
 
 But before I close, permit me to express my great disappoint- 
 ment that we have not with us here to-night, an ancient 
 renowned Pioneer — the great Patriach of our tribe, the revered 
 chieftan of our clan, though we are honored by the presence of 
 his grandson. Separated as he is from us, and far down the 
 
 24 
 
vale of years, we may never look upon his kindly face again. 
 It becomes me therefore, as your representative, to offer some 
 expression to-night of our earnest sympathy, affection and 
 remembrance. Though despoiled of his wealth, stripped of 
 his principality, and exiled from the scenes of his labors and 
 of his noble deeds, we tender to him a fealty as true and de- 
 voted as aver stirred -the heart of the Children of the Mist to 
 the majestic Maclan; the brea&t of the Campbell to the great 
 McCallum More, or nerved the arm of the gallant Cavaliers 
 whose 
 
 " steel did flash free 
 At the toss of the bonnet of Bunny Dundee." 
 
 The discoverer of gold, and thus the founder of the mighty 
 Empire of the Pacific, the blessings and benefits flowing and 
 yet to flow from his grand discovery only the gift of prophecy 
 can divine. Is it too much to say, that in other lands, he 
 would, with a diadem on his brow, and a dowry of untold mil- 
 lions, have received the grateful honors and plaudits of his peo- 
 ple for the glorious results achieved through his instrumentality.'' 
 In the full appreciation of his rich boon to us as Californians— 
 his clansmen, and may I not say his children, with a lively 
 recollection of his genial hospitality and unselfish generosity to 
 all who ever visited his home and hearth in California ; proud 
 of his pure character and spotless integrity, we would have 
 welcomed him here to-night with warm and loyal hearts, with 
 cordial, open hands. We wish that his declining years may be 
 soothed by the grateful recognition and reward of the Republic, 
 and that the gloaming of the evening of his life may be pro- 
 longed until the " streakings of the morning light " of a new 
 century in the age of the world ; and whenever the summons 
 from the Golden Throne on High shall come, we feel sure that 
 his golden virtues will have left him no treasures laid up on 
 earth to bar his entrance through the portals of the Golden 
 Gate of the Golden Celestial City — 
 
 " The City of our God and King." 
 
 At the conclusion of the President's address the Secretary 
 read the following letters, as also the telegram from San 
 Francisco : 
 
 25 
 
Executive Mansion, 
 
 Washington, January 3, 1876. 
 Deak Sir: 
 
 The President directs me to acknowledge the receipt of your favor of 
 the 24th ult., extending an invitation to attend the annual banquet of 
 your Society on January 18th, and express his thanks for the courteous 
 attention. He wishes me to say that it would afford him much pleasure 
 to accept your kind invitation, but his official duties will not permit him 
 to be absent from Washington at that date. 
 
 I am, Sir, very respectfully Yours, 
 
 LEVI P. LUCKEY, 
 Mr. Fkanois B. Clark, Secretary. 
 
 Secretary, &c.. 
 
 New York City. 
 
 Headquarters Army of the United States, 
 St. Louis, Mo., January 8, 1876. 
 Francis D. Clark, 
 
 Secretary and Treasurer, 
 
 Association of California Pioneers, 
 New York City. 
 Dear Clark : 
 
 I have just received your letter of January 5th, enclosing a card for 
 the Annual Banquet of The Associated Pioneers of the Territorial 
 Days of California, to be given on the 18th inst. at the Sturtevant House. 
 I regret exceedingly that time and distance will prevent my attendance, 
 but feel sure that there will be plenty on hand, hungry as of old, and 
 ever ready for the Feast or the Fray. 
 
 1 thank you for so often including me among the guests of your 
 Society, but it is simply impossible for me to undertake so much, so 
 that I beg you will excuse me, and ask of your associates the same 
 favor. I should, of course, like again to meet the venerable Captain 
 Sutter, whose name is synonymous with that of early California, and 
 who certainly is worthy your kindest and most honored attention. I 
 hope his days may be long in the land of the living, and that he yet 
 may receive a reward for the great good he did to those who first 
 migrated to that land of Gold and " Strange Adventures." 
 
 There is a charm about California, especially the reminiscences of its 
 earlier days, that I am not surprised that in New York, you, the pio- 
 neers, come together annually to hold social converse, and I hope you 
 will be able to keep it up for years yet. 
 
 Wishing you always a good time, 
 
 I am truly, 
 
 Your Friend, 
 
 W. T. SHERMAN. 
 
 26 
 
Headquarters Military Division of the Missouri, 
 
 Chicago, III., December 23, 1875. 
 Francis D. Clark, Esq., 
 
 Secretary Associated Pioneers of California. 
 Mt Dear Sir: 
 
 I am sorry that It will not be possible for me to accept your polite 
 invitation to bs present at the Re-union Banquet of your Society in New 
 York, on tlie 18th of January next, and I have to request you to do me 
 the favor to express my regrets to the members of the Society for my 
 unavoidable absence, and accept for them and yourself my thanks and 
 appreciation of this kind remembrance of me. 
 
 I remain. Very Respectfully, 
 
 Your Obedient Servant, 
 
 P. H. SHERIDAN, 
 Lieutenant-General U. S. Army. 
 
 Washington, D. C, January 13, 1876. 
 To 
 
 The Associated Pioneers of the Territorial Days of California, 
 New York. 
 Gentlemen: 
 
 I am indeed very sorry for not being able to attend the banquet you 
 have been kind enough to invite me to. 
 
 Unhappily I have been very unwell the last three weeks, so that I am 
 not even able to address you personally. 
 
 Allow me to tender you my most sincere thanks for your kind 
 attention, and hoping nothing shall prevent my presence next year, 
 I have the honor, Gentlemen, 
 
 To Sign, Very respectfully, 
 
 Your Obedient Servant, 
 
 J. A. SUTTER, 
 
 PerWM. DeBatin. 
 
 Lafayette Square, 
 
 Washington, D. C, January 13, 1876. 
 My Dear Gibson: 
 
 I write in great haste to say that on my return I found your kind 
 Invitation to the Annual Dinner of the Associated Pioneers, but regret 
 exceedingly my inability to attend, on account of my momentarily 
 expecting a message which will call me to California. 
 
 I beg you to express my hearty regrets to the Association, that I am 
 unable to join them on the occasion referred to. 
 
 Very truly. Your friend, 
 
 E. F. BEALE. 
 
 27 
 
t t 
 
 Arlington Hotel, [ 
 
 Hot Springs, Ark., January 12, 1876. 
 Mt Dbar Mr. Secretary: 
 
 I have just been honored with your kind and considerate invitation 
 for the 18th inst., and regret more than I can express, the improbability 
 of my being able to participate with you in the approaching meeting of 
 our Association. In truth, I am no longer my own master ; I surren- 
 dered myself to my physicians two or three months since, and they 
 emphatically demur to my going into your climate at this season of the 
 year. I am a trained soldier, and therefore shall be obedient to their 
 suggestions, for the present, but intend to go northward in the early 
 days of the Centennial, either with or without their assent. 
 
 Am truly sorry that I cannot be with you, but wish you a jolly good 
 time, one and all, as I know you deserve it, and will have it. 
 I have the honor to be. Gentlemen, 
 
 Your friend and associate, 
 
 J. HOOKER, 
 
 Major-General. 
 
 New York, January 10, 1876. 
 Gentlemen : 
 
 I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your invitation to the 
 banquet of the " Associated Pioneers of the Territorial Days of Cali- 
 fornia," on the 18th inst. 
 
 A recent domestic affliction has caused me to decline all invitations 
 for social occasions, and on that account I do not accept this. 
 Thanking you for your courtesy, 
 
 I am, very truly Yours, 
 
 WINPIELD S. HANCOCK. 
 
 Senate Chamber, 
 
 State of Calipornia, 
 
 Sacramento, January 7, 1876. 
 Francis D. Clark, 
 
 Secretary, &c. : 
 Yours of the 22d of Dec, Inviting me to be present on the 18th inst. 
 at a Banquet of the Associated Pioneers, came to hand to-day. I know 
 of nothing that would afford me more pleasure than to comply with 
 your request ; the sight of your letter carries me back to the days of '49, 
 my boyhood days, when you and I were lads, when this great state was 
 an infant ; we have seen it grow from a mere waste to be one of the 
 
 28 
 
principal among the sisterhood of states. I wish I could be with you 
 to talk over the vast changes that have taken place. And now wishing 
 prosperity, long life, and happiness to all you Pioneers who still 
 remember us on these far-off golden shores, I am, 
 
 Yours truly, 
 
 R. McGARVEY. 
 
 MoBRisTOWN, N. J., January 5, 1876. 
 Major Francis D. Clask, 
 
 Secretary Pioneers of California, 
 New York. 
 Dear Sib: 
 
 I have received your polite invitation, and it would give me the 
 sincerest pleasure to meet with you all at your annual banquet, were it 
 only possible for me to do so; but prolonged illness, arising from 
 wounds and inftrmities, precludes the possibility of coming even so 
 short a distance at this season. 
 
 Wishing the Pioneers a pleasant time, I must subscribe myself. 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 Very truly, your comrade, 
 
 JOSEPH "W. REVERE, 
 
 Brevet Major-General. 
 
 [Note. — General Revere in 1846 was a Lieutenant in the Navy, and by order of Captain 
 Montgomery, of the " Portsmouth," raised our flag at Sonoma, July 9th, 1816.] 
 
 Opficb of Inspeotor-Genkkal, 
 
 No. 19 South 13th St., 
 Philadkuhia, Pbnn., January 10, 1876. 
 Francis D. Clark, Esq., 
 
 New York. 
 Mt Dear Sir: 
 
 I have the pleasure of acknowledging the receipt of your note of the 
 5th inst. 
 
 I regret that it will be utterly impossible for me to be present on the 
 Interesting occasion of the "Annual Banquet," although I assure you 
 I take the greatest interest in everything pertaining to the events and 
 persons of early California life. 
 
 Public engagements will require my presence elsewhere about the 
 date fixed for the entertainment. 
 With the kindest remembrances to all interested, 
 I am, very truly yours, 
 
 JAS. A. HARDIE, 
 
 Brevet Major-Gteneral, 
 
 Inspector-General. 
 
 29 
 
HiUTFORD, Conn., January 5, 1876. 
 Francis D. Clark, Esq., 
 
 Secretary, &c. 
 Dear Sir: 
 
 Your courteous invitation of Dec. 21st has been in my hands some 
 little time now, but I have not been well enough to write letters, and 
 am not yet well enough to do it without assistance. This must be my 
 excuse for delaying to reply sooner. 
 
 I should be glad indeed, to meet with the Pioneers, and help them to 
 celebrate the twenty-eighth Anniversary of the Gold discovery, and 
 should be more than glad to take the veteran General Sutter by the 
 hand again ; but I am sorry to say that the loss of time consequent upon 
 my illness has put my work back to such a degree, that I shall be 
 obliged to remain at home for some time to come, in order to catch up. 
 
 Although I am debarred from being present on the pleasant occasion, 
 I hope that the luckier ones will enjoy their happier opportunity to the 
 full. 
 
 With many thanks, I am. 
 
 Tours, very truly, 
 
 SAMUEL L. CLEMENS. 
 
 (MARK TWAIN.) 
 
 Philadelphia, Pa., January 13, 1876. 
 My Dear Gibson: 
 
 I duly received your pleasant note of the 8th, and your invitation to 
 the dinner of the Associated Pioneers. 
 
 Tour kind words brought back a thousand memories of the good old 
 times when we rather delighted in the unique " roughing it," inseparable 
 from early California life. At long intervals I see some newspaper 
 notice of your name, and of a dozen other friends who grace your 
 Committees of Invitation, Reception, &c. It would be a resurrection 
 of delight to exchange kindly greetings with so many whom I have not 
 met for twenty or twenty-five years. 
 
 Do you think the well-paid, well-fed, well-housed Californian of 
 to-day, with his ample bank account, can begin to realize the struggles, 
 trials, lack of funds, and whilom privations of our earlier days on the 
 Pacific Coast ? Not muchly ! He makes his journey there in luxurious 
 Pullman Cars, drives into Tosemite direct, "Steamboats" it almost 
 hourly up and down the coast, even visits the mighty Shasta by rail, 
 and " does " the Columbia and Puget Sound and Frazer River in ample 
 ease and comfort. Why, he can even go to the dear old Presidio for 
 half a dime, and behold the sea lions from the CliflF house for a total 
 expenditure of fifty cents — if he don't " stand drinks." 
 
 Not so twenty-six years ago, when cooks received higher wages than 
 
 3° 
 
the salary of a colonel, and when it was no disgrace to broil one's own 
 red herring at a camp-flre, and play the hon vivant on an entree of 
 mouldy hard-tack and a dig of commissary whiskey. 
 
 No railroads and stage-coaches then ; if one was not fortunate 
 enough to secure a friend's worn-out mule, the only remedy was to pack 
 your blankets and " hoof it." No " I'alace Hotels " along the weary 
 and mountainous miles, but a blanket bem'ath some friendly-looking 
 oak ; no serenade of feminine voices, but just as the somnolent pipe had 
 done Its duty the sleep destroying yells of nine hundred and ninety-nine 
 coyotes pierced tympanum and gorge. Even they are gone, and now 
 the enthusiastic naturalist travels the baked plains for days in search 
 of a single " specimen." 
 
 But, unfortunately, with the annoyances and the discomforts have 
 gone the brave old Dons, and the charming, heart-distressing Senoritas ; 
 their illimitable ranches have been divided among squatters, lawyers, 
 and land sharks; no more "Spanish cattle" upon a "thousand hills" 
 to charge upon the unmounted wayfarer. All that is changed ; the 
 inevitable "pioneer" has spied out the land and found it was good — 
 and to-day it is his at so much per square foot. Here and there you 
 meet the dark-eyed Sefiorita, but she bears an unexpressed grudge and 
 dislike to Los Americanos. The generous hospitality we received from 
 the hands of her fathers has given way to the flftycent meals of badly 
 fried ram chops of the unconscionable settler, who " hates the nasty 
 marks of a gridiron" on a well broiled porter-house steak! 
 
 Those were the days that tried the grit of our fellow men, and no 
 wonder that when two or three of us are gathered together over a 
 camp-flre in the mountains, or at the Sturtevant Hoase, New York, we 
 rehash the old yet well-known trials and experiences. We cannot help 
 feeling that the bond of friendship cemented under such circumstances 
 surpasses in strength and warm sincerity the every-day friendship of 
 our great cities. 
 
 Notwithstanding the bold, free, generous life of those early days, [ 
 don't sigh for a repetition; in fact I don't object a particle to the 
 modern innovations on the Pacittc Slope, and have continued my home 
 there, not only for its old antl pleasant memories, but for the larger and 
 broader development which pervades the tliought of its people. A 
 more vigorous race cannot help arising from sucli a glorious country 
 witli its bold coasts ; its valleys greater and richer than the Nile ; its 
 noble mountains gold and silver ribbed ; its climate more invigorating 
 than any in Europe ; and its certain prospective control of the countries 
 bathed by the Pacific. 
 
 I have just returned with my family from a flfteen-months' journey 
 around the world, through Japan, China, India, Egypt, and Europe ; 
 we have been delighted with much that we saw — with the grand 
 Himalayas, the wonderful ruins of an earlier Indian civilization ; with 
 the pre-historic ruins of old Nile ; with the Alps ; with the industry, 
 thrift, and high civilization of Europe; — we have seen much that it 
 
 31 
 
would be delightful to see again, and to slowly drink in the beauties ; 
 bat notwithstanding all allurements we come back more thoroughly 
 Americanized than ever, and more intensely Californian than I thought 
 possible, — and that is saying much. 
 But this garrulity betrays age — and I clap on a stopper. 
 I am sorry my chief, (another old Californian,) is so inexorable for 
 my report before my departure to San Francisco a fortnight hence, or 
 I would gladly join in your re-union festivities ; but 1 am sure, by the 
 well-known names on your roll, that you will have a "high old time," 
 and in the blaze of sentiment and wit you won't miss 
 
 Yours, very sincerely, 
 
 GEORGE DAVIDSON. 
 General H. G. Gibson, TJ. S. A., 
 
 President, &c. 
 
 TELEGRAPHIC. 
 
 San Fkancisco, January 18, 1876. 
 To 
 
 The Associated Pioneers of the Territorial Days of California: 
 Sturtevant House, New York. 
 
 The Territorial Pioneers of California who still keep watch and ward 
 at the Golden Gate, unite with you in commemorating the discovery 
 of gold in California, and with you in memories retrospective, live anew 
 amid the stirring scenes to which that event gave birth. But we wish 
 to add, that more precious, more valued than the gold of our mountains, 
 is the glory that has been won in literature and in art, in council and 
 in arms, by the genius and valor of men who reflect honor on our own, 
 our loved California. 
 
 JAMES M. Mcdonald, 
 
 President Territorial Pioneers of California. 
 
 Letters were also received and read from his Excellency 
 Governor Tilden, of New York, Senators A. A. Sargent, New- 
 ton Booth, and Jos. R. West, Rev. H. M. Scudder, Rev. F. C. 
 Ewer, Col. P. C. Rust, Gen. Wm. H. Christian, of Utica, N. Y., 
 and Messrs. Bayard Taylor, Edward Minturn, and Clark Bell. 
 
 32 
 
At the conclusion of the reading of the letters, the President 
 announced as the first Regular Toast, — 
 
 ''^ The President of the United States." 
 
 Music. — " Hail Columbia." 
 
 Col. T. B. Thorpe, (an officer under General Taylor during 
 the Mexican Campaign,) responded as follows : 
 
 I certainly consider it a great compliment to be called on to 
 respond to the first regular toast " The President," but know- 
 ing full well the sensitiveness of partizan influence, I feel that 
 it is a difficult task to speak with the freedom the subject de- 
 mands, and the enthusiasm it inspires me. Looking upon this 
 noble assemblage before me, composed of gentlemen all good 
 and true, yet widely differing in their political sentiments, I am 
 at a loss how to sink the personal in mere official admiration, 
 that sort of sublimated ethereality that can separate a man 
 from his office. I am in the condition of the artisan who, in a 
 dark room, had to pick up a bar of iron, that was burning hot 
 at one end, and very cold at the other, he did not know which 
 end he would get hold of I have been chosen however to 
 reply to the toast, and I trust that I will be permitted, even at 
 this festive board, to be for one moment serious. I was at 
 Des Moines and heard General Grant deliver his speech in de- 
 fence of our common school system. In a few words, simply 
 expressed, he created a revolution in' our politics, and if our 
 descendants live to celebrate a second Centennial of our 
 nation's existence, it will be because the few sentences alluded 
 to, and their suggestions, are held by our statesmen and 
 our people more precious than gold. An English newspaper 
 said that General Grant, at Des Moines, in a sentence or two, 
 had done more to solve the great principle of self-government, 
 than Gladstone had accomplished in a long life. 
 
 In the breaking out of our "sectional unpleasantness," 
 General Grant offered his services as a volunteer to the Union 
 Army, beginning at the foot of the ladder, he ended as its vic- 
 torious commanding General ; yet he never went to Washing- 
 ton to beg promotion, if sought him in the field. At the close 
 of the "warlike discussion," the capitol of the Confederacy 
 hung out its banners, and its citizens, and a victorious army 
 
 iZ 
 
awaited to hail his entry as the hero and savior of our com- 
 mon country. Yet General Grant did in the matter what no 
 I other living man would have done ; he avoided the ovation, he 
 quietly escaped from the suburbs of Richmond, and entered 
 Washington personally, almost unnoticed and unknown. He 
 never proposed a law, or favored one, for the purpose of op- 
 pressing our "southern brethren;" he gave suggestion of his 
 spirit, in the way of amnesty, when on the field of Appotomax, 
 he told the Confederate cavalry to take their horses and go 
 home, and attend to their legitimate duties. It is said that he 
 is in the "whiskey ring;" the same charge was made against 
 him in the first brilliant successes of his military career, but 
 honest old Abe Lincoln did not mind the charges, but urged 
 his slowly moving, hesitating generals, to sip a little of General 
 Grant's whiskey. 
 
 A short time ago I met with a German of singularly im- 
 pressive personal appearance, his face appeared to have been 
 made up of the best qualities of those of Thorswalden and 
 Goethe. I found the man pursuing the humble calling of a 
 barber, in a humbler basement. I finally expressed my sur- 
 prise, that with his evident natural ability, he should be follow- 
 ing the tonsorial art. 
 
 "My friend," said the German with much emotion, "I had 
 some money when I came to this country, and was most com- 
 fortably situated, but in an evil hour I met with sharpers, -who 
 literally stole my property. I went to law but could get no 
 justice. When I was in Prussia, if I called the Emperor a thief 
 or a knave I would be put in prison, but no one in Prussia could 
 defraud me of a cent. The Emperor had his rights, and they 
 were respected, I had my rights and they were defended. Here 
 in America I can abuse the President with impunity, I can call 
 him a scoundral, or a cheat, and no one arrests me or calls me 
 to an account, but I cannot get any protection against scoun- 
 drels who cheat me of my property. If the sum total of the 
 advantages of democratic institutions, is the privilege of abusing 
 the President, but don't afford me any protection of my property 
 against swindlers, then I don't like them,'' and "neither do I," 
 emphatically added the speaker. 
 
 34 
 
The next regular toast was — 
 " The Seventh of July, 1846." 
 
 The memorable day on which the colors of the Republic 
 were hoisted over the soil of Cahfornia, practically giving that 
 vast and valuable territory to the American Union. 
 
 " Forever float that standard sheet, 
 ■ Where breathes the foe, but falls before us ; 
 With Freedom's soil beneath our feet. 
 
 And Freedom's banner streamine; o'er us ! " — Drake. 
 
 Music. — "The Star Spangled Banner." 
 
 Response by Ex-Governor Rodman M. Price, of New Jersey, 
 (a participant), in Naval Service under Com. Sloat, 1846, 
 who spoke as follows : 
 
 Mr. President and Gentlemen : 
 
 In obedience to the wish of your Committee, I respond to 
 the toast just read with mingled feelings of pride and pleasure, 
 although sensible of my inability to properly illustrate so im- 
 portant an historical event, even if the limits of this occasion 
 would allow it. An event so memorable, and so signalized by 
 its great results upon our great Republic, and so pregnant with 
 its expansive power, has a right to claim one of the most bril- 
 liant pages in our National History. 
 
 The raising of our glorious Flag over California, on the 7th 
 of July, 1846, was accomplished by the landing at Monterey of 
 a Naval force consisting of about 400 sailors and marines, 
 detachments from the Flag Ship Savannah, and Sloops of War 
 Cyane, Warren and Levant, the whole under command of 
 Captain Mervine, by the order of, and under the Proclamation 
 of Commodore John D. Sloat, then commanding the U. S. 
 Naval forces in the Pacific Ocean. 
 
 Notice having been given by Commodore Sloat on early 
 morning of that day to the Mexican civil and military authori- 
 ties. Governor Pico, and General Castro, that he would land 
 and occupy the town, and proclaim the permanent occupation 
 of the country in the name of the United States. 
 
 Our ships sprung their broadsides upon the town; the land- 
 ing was accomplished without resistance ; the Mexican troops 
 
 35 
 
and civil authorities having evacuated the place before the land- 
 ing of our forces. Commodore Sloat's proclamation of occupa- 
 tion was read to the assembled citizens of California, and our 
 sailors and marines occupied the military barracks just vacated, 
 and the emblem of freedom, enhghtenment and progress soon 
 floated over the custom house, saluted by the guns from the 
 ships and the huzzas of the men. 
 
 Our Flag was raised two days afterward at San Francisco by 
 Captain Montgomery of the Sloop of War Portsmouth. 
 
 It must be remembered that Commodore Sloat was acting 
 under the instructions of President James K. Polk, to whose 
 large statesmanship we must credit the acquisition of California. 
 
 It was not for human sagacity or foresight to foresee its 
 future value and importance ; at the time it was considered 
 valuable as adjoining an additional territory on the Pacific, 
 and for its geographical position and prospective commer- 
 cial advantages. 
 
 It was known also as a possession greatly coveted by Great 
 Britain; and Commodore Sloat just grasped it in time to pre- 
 vent its falling into the lap of England. And we Pioneers and 
 Americans can celebrate the thirtieth year of its acquisition on 
 this centennial year, as the grandest event that has happened 
 in our National life time. The results have been fabulous. 
 Altrition on the lamp of Aladdin, never more suddenly revealed 
 such magical wealth. • 
 
 The rich productiveness of its soil and its mineral wealth was 
 not known and has been developed entirely since its acquisi- 
 tion; indeed, it was considered by many, after the Treaty of 
 Peace, and its cession to the United States by Mexico, that 
 California was a barren, sterile waste, that it would not produce 
 enough to feed the army and navy necessarily required to pro- 
 tect and defend it. 
 
 The work of raising the flag was one thing, and to maintain it 
 was another, over this extensive territory, with the small force at 
 command, against an active enemy with superior numbers ; and 
 this work fell upon the intrepid Stockton, who arrived in the 
 Frigate Congress a few days after the flag was raised, and suc- 
 ceeded Sloat in the command of the squadron. He was pre- 
 eminently qualified for the emergency and the rough and ardu- 
 ous work before him. 
 
 36 
 
Fortunately he was soon joined by a remarkable body of men, 
 the early American pioneer settlers of California, who had 
 banded together for self-protection against the despotic rule of 
 Mexico, and had, before our flag was raised, organized under 
 an independent flag, — the Bear flag, — to make war upon the 
 California authorities in retaliation for injuries done them. 
 
 This band, to the number of two hundred, under the com- 
 mand of the Pathfinder, Fremont, came into Monterey, each 
 with his trusted and unerring rifle, and volunteered their ser- 
 vices to the Commodore. Among them were . Ide, Semple, 
 Reading, Snyder, Greyson, Lippincott, Foster and Kit Carson, 
 each man bearing an individuality for romantic prowess and 
 adventure, of high born Americanism, forming a galaxy of 
 unsurpassed chivalry and daring. They were speedily mus- 
 tered into the service of the United States as the Cahfornia 
 battalion of mounted men; their rapid marches and daring 
 feats made them a terror from the upper Sacramento to San 
 Uiego. 
 
 The next aid that arrived was a company of the 3d U. S. 
 Artillery. And then came in March, 1847, Stevenson's regi- 
 ment of New York Volunteers of one thousand effective men, 
 who were able to hold the territory, and relieve the Navy. 
 
 The influence of this regiment upon the history of California 
 has been most marked ; after its arrival most of the squadron 
 moved against the southern ports of Mexico. 
 
 The services of Sloat, Stockton, Biddle, Shubrick, Jones, 
 Kearny, Mason, Riley, Fremont, Mervine, Montgomery, Du 
 Pont, Stevenson and the junior officers and men, all equally 
 zealous in the performance of duty, and all associated in the 
 struggle for the acquisition of California, in the work of raising 
 and maintaining our flag in its early memories and developing 
 its resources, not forgetting the great victories won by our 
 armies under the immortal Taylor and Scott, who gave us the 
 " Title Deeds " of California, and all participants in the suc- 
 cessful achievement are entitled to the Nation's gratitude. 
 
 Our association with this wonderful event, has brought us 
 together as a Society, and will bind us together in the strongest 
 ties of fraternity, sympathy and union. 
 
 We will point with pride to our efforts for its acquisition and 
 development, its rapid rise and population, its quick admission 
 
 37 
 
as a State of the Union, springing, like Minerva, fully armed 
 from the head of Jove, with the talismanic motto "Eureka," its 
 sudden growth in wealth, its marvelous agricultural and min- 
 eral productions, and electrical rise in all the elements of the 
 highest civilization ; and although separated from her prosperity 
 and grandeur, cherishing the fondest feelings for the Golden 
 State, and the parent Society of California Pioneers — Pioneers, 
 whether in CaHfornia or New York, are still Pioneers. We are 
 the same men, with the same hearts, the same pulse, the same 
 sensibilities, moved by the same large, self-sacrificing patriot- 
 ism that we were in 1846 and 1849. 
 
 If I mistake not this Society is typical of enterprising philan- 
 thropy; that we believe in the extension of popular govern- 
 ment; the extension of the area of freedom as the greatest 
 blessing to mankind; that our great Republic will not be 
 checked by the ocean, but will go wherever it will give greater 
 blessings, greater happiness to mankind. Why should not Cuba 
 be free ? Why should not Mexico and the Western Hemi- 
 sphere become States of this great Republic ? We, as Ameri- 
 cans, may contemplate its realization — as demonstrated on the 
 day made memorable by raising the flag of the great Republic 
 in California. 
 
 38 
 
The third regular toast was — 
 
 " The State of California." 
 
 " The modern El Dorado, marvelous in its developement — 
 wonderful in its progress — it surpasses the fabled enchant- 
 ments of Aladdin, and proves the truth of the adage : ' Fact 
 is stranger than Fiction.' " 
 
 " See busy millions quickenine all the land, 
 "With cities thronged, and teeming culture high. 
 For Nature then smiled on her free born sons. 
 And poured the plenty that belongs to man." — 
 
 Thomson: Liberty. 
 
 Music. — "Know the Land of Golden Fruits and Flowers." — 
 
 Hon. R. H. McKu^fE, Mayor of Scranton, Pa., responded as 
 follows : 
 
 Mr. President and Associates : 
 
 In rising to respond to the toast, " The State of California," 
 I feel at a loss where to begin, so that I shall not trespass beyond 
 the time allotted to me. A history so prolific of great events, 
 and grand achievements, the results of which have been in so 
 direct opposition to the prognostications of the scientist and 
 statesman of a quarter of a century ago, has never before been 
 written. To-night we meet here as " The Associated Pioneers 
 of the Territorial Days of California." We come from different 
 parts of the country to this common centre to greet one an- 
 other with gladness and with joy, and revive the memories of 
 other days. 
 
 But to our subject. — The missions of the Jesuits of Lower 
 California having been placed in the hands of the Franciscan 
 Monks, of the College of San Fernando, Mexico, which mis- 
 sions they held until the Dominicans claimed a share, which by 
 royal decree was accorded to them. The first day of July, 1 769, 
 marked as the birthday ofWellington and Napoleon, is memo- 
 rable in the history of California, as the first day that Father 
 Junipero pitched his tent at San Diego, in Upper California, with 
 the purpose to live and die there. The Jesuits, who had been 
 deposed from their mission in Lower California, led by this ven- 
 erable missionary, to whom this work of founding missions was a 
 
 39 
 
labor of love, and who is to be credited with the success of the 
 peaceful occupation of Upper Cahfornia — without disturbance, 
 without bloodshed, with scarcely a ripple on the surface of that 
 simple society. These occupants of a wild and almost un- 
 known portion of the continent drifted through two generations. 
 Nature was lavish in her productions ; cattle were on the 
 hills and swarmed in the valleys. A spirit of contentment 
 reigned throughout the land. The outside world knew little or 
 nothing of them until the Yankee skipper, with his stock for 
 trading, found them out. And soon after Boston and other 
 markets knew of the hides and tallow of California. It was in 
 one of those trading vessels that Dana sailed, and gave to us 
 his journal, in that most readable of books, "Two Years before 
 the Mast," which contained a graphic description of the coun- 
 try and its people, and was eagerly read. 
 
 Up to 1826 the Rocky Mountains had been a barrier 
 against overland immigration. In that year, one of the great 
 Smith family made the first overland trip to California. I will 
 not stop to enter into the details of the Government of Cah- 
 fornia during the fifty-five years of Spanish, and twenty-four 
 years of Mexican rule, without molestation, save by a colony of 
 Russians, who settled in 181 2, in what is now Sonoma County, 
 and continued there until 1841, when they sold all of their 
 property to Capt. John A. Sutter, who was to act so prominent 
 a part in the future history of California. The advent of Col. 
 Fremont, with his surveying party, in 1846, was the commence- 
 ment of an era that was to include the scenes and incidents that 
 eventuated in its subjugation by the United States. 
 
 I should like, if time would permit, to enter into the details 
 of the acts of the Army and Navy — of Fremont and Kearny, 
 Sloat and Stockton, Mason and Stevenson, and their subordi- 
 nates. There can be no question that the act of Com. Sloat 
 in occupying Monterey, on the 7th of July, 1846, nipped in the 
 bud a project of Forbes and Sir George Seymour to occupy 
 Cahfornia for the benefit of the English, who held claims 
 against the Mexican Government. 
 
 Wm. B. Ide, a native of New England, who had been left in 
 charge of Sonoma had opposed to him at the head of the Mex- 
 icans, Gen. Castro, who, Mexican-like, fulminated a proclama- 
 tion directing all Americans to leave the country. Ide, on the 
 
 40 
 
1 8th of June, 1846, issued his, which soon drew around him 
 quite a force. Tuthill, in his History of CaHfornia, says, the 
 party at Sonoma seems to have declared an independent State, 
 and some say that Ide was elected Governor, but I am under 
 the impression that such was not the fact. Of course a flag was 
 necessary ; and with such rude appliances as were at hand pro- 
 duced one whose like had not been seen before. On a sheet 
 of cotton cloth, with a blacking brush and a pot of berry juice, 
 a tolerable likeness of a grizzly bear was painted. This was 
 the Bear Flag, and the party that raised it has gone into history 
 as the Bear Flag party, and the flag is now preserved by the 
 California Society of Pioneers, in San Francisco. In Decem- 
 ber, 1846, Gen. Kearny, with several companies of the First 
 Dragoons entered the borders of Upper California, and in the 
 month of January, 1847, a company of the Third Artillery, 
 under Capt. C. Q. Tompkins, arrived on the U. S. ship Lex- 
 ington, followed, on the 6th of March, by the ship Thomas H. 
 Perkins, with Col. Jonathan D. Stevenson and a portion of his 
 regiment, composed of New York youths arrived, followed later 
 in the month by the other ships of the fleet, and were distributed 
 throughout the Mexican towns along the coast of California ; 
 and their advent tended largely to Americanize the country. 
 With that happy-go-lucky character, so peculiarly that of the 
 New York boys, they soon became great favorites with the 
 people. It is unnecessary here to enter into the details of the 
 difficulty that arose between Col Fremont and Gen. Kearny, 
 it was at least a misunderstanding that required the aid of a 
 Court Martial to settle. 
 
 The Treaty of the Ranch of Couenga, made on the 13 th of 
 January, 1847, and approved by Col. Fremont three days later, 
 from which date California in reality took her position as a 
 territory of the United States. Col. Fremont, under authority 
 of Commodore Stockton, assuming the military command and 
 Governmentship of California, with his Headquarters at Los 
 Angeies, while Gen. Kearny by virtue of his rank in the .Army 
 held the same position with Headquarters at Monterey. 
 
 On the 31st day of July, 1846, Samuel Brannan arrived at 
 San Francisco in the ship Brooklyn from New York with his 
 company of Mormons, and pitched their tents in that portion 
 of the City known to us, in 1849, as Happy Valley. But it ap- 
 
 41 
 
pears that contentment was not one of the virtues of his 
 followers. 
 
 January, 1847, found Verba Buena with about three hundred 
 inhabitants, about fifty adobe houses, a newspaper published by 
 Brannan, Lieut. Washington A. Bartlett of the Navy, its first 
 Alcalde, on whose recommendation the Ayuntamiento of the 
 town changed its name from Yerba Buena to San Francisco. 
 This was a happy idea, and setded the question of rivalry be- 
 tween it and Benicia. Thus was California started on the road 
 to its future greatness. To the men of 1846 the excitement 
 attending the news of the position of Reed and Downer's com- 
 pany who were snowed in at the foot of Truckee Pass, on the 
 eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada, will never be forgotton. 
 The energy displayed in attempting to rescue them was worthy 
 of the noble men who went to their relief. Alas, the majority 
 of the party had already perished from starvation. 
 
 The opening of 1848 found San Francisco a bustling, busy 
 American town. Its progress was marked, and all felt that 
 with its splendid harbor it was destined to be a place of im- 
 portance. None were dreaming of the immediate future that 
 lay before them. But let us sail up the beautiful bay of San 
 Francisco, pass through San Pablo, the Straits of Carquinez and 
 enter Suisun Bay, and on up the Sacramento until we reach the 
 Embarcadero, three miles west of old Sutter's Fort. The bays, 
 rivers and lagoons were filled with innumerable flocks of wild 
 geese and ducks ; on every side game was abundant. A country 
 indeed in which the disciples of Nimrod could revel in delight. 
 At the Fort we find the noble Captain Sutter active, energetic, 
 and fully imbued with the spirit of American enterprise, already 
 beginning to pervade the Province. Establishing a store and 
 hotel, and building a saw-mill on the American River to supply 
 the demand for lumber, he provided, with generous liberality 
 and untiring energy for the wants of the increasing popula- 
 tion. But here that glittering metal which Marshall finds in 
 the tail race is examined with curiosity and wonder by his 
 fellow workmen. The specimen is at once carried by Marshall 
 to Captain Sutter, and among the few the matter was can- 
 vassed. The specimens were forwarded to San Francisco; but 
 not until Humphrey and the Frenchman, Baptiste, (who each 
 had had some experience in gold mining,) pronounced it gold, 
 
 42 
 
r 
 
 were the people convinced that the metal that lay before them 
 was in reality the precious metal. Then, as the news spread 
 throughout California, all business was immediately suspended, 
 and a general stampede took place for the gold diggings. Col. 
 R. B. Mason, who was the militaryjgovernor of California, dis- 
 patched Lieut. Lucian Loeser with the news, accompanied by 
 specimens of the metal, to Washington in order that the au- 
 thorities might be apprised of the discovery ; but the informa- 
 tion given to the world by the press was not generally credited 
 until the issuing of the message of the President to Congress, in 
 which he gave as his authority Governor Mason, the Mihtary 
 Commandant of California, for the truth of the grand dis- 
 covery. 
 
 Let us turn back for a few moments to other matters. 
 The news of the Treaty of Peace with Mexico reached 
 California late in the summer of 1848. It was received 
 with satisfaction, and honored by the usual methods of re- 
 joicing. The laws under which the people lived up to the 
 adopti n of the State Constitution was of a mixed character, 
 partly American, partly Mexican. To Gen. Bennett Riley, 
 who succeeded Col. Mason as Civil and Military Governor, 
 the people of California owe a debt of gratitude. Congress 
 having adjourned without providing for a Territorial Gov- 
 ernment, he advised the calling of a Constitutional Con- 
 vention, which was held in the fall of 1849, at Monterey, 
 in Colton Hall'. He made provision for the payment of the 
 delegates, and in every way possible assisted in furthering 
 the true interests of the territory. Among the names of the 
 men who composed the Convention we find that of H. W. 
 Halleck, Captain John A. Sutter, John McDougal, Thos. 
 O. Larkin, M. G. Vallejo, Wm. M. Gwinn, Robert Semple, 
 and others of mark and note. They were not men of many 
 words, but proceeded immediately to their work. In about six 
 weeks their labor had been performed, and they submitted the 
 Constitution to the people, who ratified it on the 13th of No- 
 vember, 1849. These were the halcyon days of California. 
 The mines were yielding bountifully, labor of all kinds was am- 
 ply recompensed. The fleet from around the Horn began to 
 arrive filled with eager, earnest men, who had taken this long 
 and perilous trip in hopes of accumulating wealth. Some ex- 
 
 43 
 
perienced bitter disappointment, not having realized the labor 
 and hardship they were to meet. 
 
 I shall not stop to describe the immense amount of business 
 done in San Francisco, Sacramento, Stockton, and other 
 places. 
 
 In the fall of 1849, the first Legislature was elected, and met 
 at San Jose. The Senate consisted of sixteen members, and 
 the Assembly of thirty-six. General Riley surrendered the 
 administration of civil affairs to the Governor, Peter H. Bur- 
 nett, and thus the territorial government was in the possession 
 of officers elected by the people. On the sixth day of the ses- 
 sion of the Legislature they went into joint session for the elec- 
 tion of United States Senators. John C. Fremont and William 
 M. Gwinn were chosen; and they immediately started for 
 Washington. 
 
 Upon the arrival of Senators Fremont and Gwinn, and the 
 Representatives, at Washington, President Taylor addressed 
 Congress by message, that California had organized a State 
 Government, and, through her Senators and Representatives, 
 were applying for admission. We cannot stop this evening to 
 review any of the objections that were made to her admission. 
 But I cannot forego quoting the language of your own Seward, 
 who said : " Let California come in. — California that comes 
 from the clime where the west dies away into the rising east — 
 California which bounds at once the empire and the continent 
 — California, the youthful queen of the Pacific, in robes of 
 freedom, gorgeously inlaid with gold is doubly welcome. She 
 stands justified for all the irregularities of her coming." 
 
 After a long and stormy session, the Bill admitting California 
 as a State into the Union, passed, and was signed by President 
 Fillmore on the 9th day of September, 1850. The news of 
 California's admission was brought to San Francisco by the 
 steamer Oregon, which vessel arrived on the i8th of October 
 following, and on the 29th the City of San Francisco cele- 
 brated with enthusiastic joy the advent of the Golden State 
 into the constellation of the Union, with a grand procession, 
 under the direction of Col. Jonathan D. Stevenson, an oration 
 by , and a banquet and ball. The style of the celebra- 
 tion was so peculiar, unique and characteristic as to excite the 
 pleasurable comments of the famous London Times. 
 
 44 
 
-^♦-•- 
 
 During the violent debates in Congress, the people of Cali- 
 fornia, unmindful of politics, kept steadily to their occupations, 
 mining and trading. 
 
 On the first day of May the citizens of San Francisco ap- 
 proved by their vote the City Charter, which had been passed 
 by the Legislature ; and Col. John W. Geary was elected 
 Mayor. 
 
 The progress of the city was unparalleled. The fire of De- 
 cember 24th, 1849, with a loss of one and a half millions of 
 dollars, gave to the citizens some idea of the danger from that 
 source. May 4th, 1850, the city was again visited by another 
 conflagration ; this time with a loss of four million dollars. A 
 third fire, on the 2 2d of June, 1851, occasioned a loss of nearly 
 five million dollars; and again on the nth of September, an- 
 other, with a loss of one miUion of dollars. And yet these con- 
 tinued reverses in nowise abated the ardor or retarded the 
 pioneer in his determination to build up a queen city on the 
 Pacific Coast. 
 
 In the meantime Sacramento and Stockton were realizing the 
 benefits of immigration. While the mining towns, during 1850, 
 kept continually changing their inhabitants, a restless spirit 
 seemed to .pervade the whole mining region both north and 
 south ; and this same feeling prevailed in the Legislature, they 
 changing the capital of the State a number of times in a few 
 years. But while fire and flood swept over the cities, and 
 hardship was endured in the mines, the mines still continued to 
 yield their abundant treasures to the industrious and enterpris- 
 ing. The estimate of the gold production up to 1856, is about 
 $500,000,000, and without depreciating its relative value, gave 
 a grand impetus to every business interest of the country and 
 of the world. 
 
 During this time the system of mining was undergoing 
 a change from the pan and rocker, to the long toms, flumes 
 and canals ; and from thence to the hydraulic hose. In the 
 meantime, the system of quartz mining and crushing had been 
 brought to a paying business. Agriculture began its career, 
 and soon it was demonstrated that California would pay as a 
 grain and fruit producing country. In the meantime San 
 Francisco had pushed out into the bay until the whole space 
 between Clark and Rincon Points had been built over with 
 
 45 
 
docks and wharves. Upon these were erected the business 
 portion of the city. 
 
 From the English colonies had gathered in California some 
 of the most hardened criminals, as well as from our own Atlan- 
 tic States. Provoked by the disorders, crimes and disturbances 
 caused by this class, who to some extent obtained positions of 
 influence, a large majority of the people of San Francisco, 
 feeling that it was a desperate disease requiring a desperate 
 remedy, rose in their might and cleansed the Augean Stable 
 with Herculean strength and courage. Whilst many good men 
 disapproved, and other good men deprecated or deplored the 
 necessity, and gave it only a silent acquiescence, yet the -results, 
 so far as time has developed, were beneficial ; and future his- 
 tory must decide' the question of good or evil flowing from the 
 action of those who controlled this formidable, and, in our 
 country, unusual and extraordinary movement. 
 
 But I have dwelt too long, and must hasten to a close. To- 
 day we find it a State growing steadily in importance, with a 
 population, at the last census, of 726,967, to which has been 
 added by immigration during the past year, 57,773; with 
 3,366,716 acres of land under cultivation; and producing, dur- 
 ing the past year, 28,784,571 bushels of wheat. Thus placing 
 her at the head of the wheat producing states of the Union. 
 Whilst the products of her vineyards are as delicious and boun- 
 tiful as the world has ever known ; and the wines of California 
 may be said to compete successfully in our market with those 
 from other states, or other countries. Within the State there are 
 six hundred and thirty irrigating ditches, irrigating 139,570 acres. 
 The value of her real estate improvements, and personal prop- 
 erty, have reached $611,256,939. The average annual gold pro- 
 ductions are '^21,000,000. Instead of gold having depreciated 
 in value, as the croakers of 1848 prognosticated, its value has 
 since greatly enhanced, and is to-day $18.70 per oz., against 
 $15.50 in 1848. San Francisco to-day, with her population of 
 250,000, is indeed one of the marvels of the century. Her 
 real estate improvements and personal property now amount to 
 $316,566,205. 
 
 Robert C. Schenck, while a member of Congress, with a near- 
 sightedness almost unpardonable, moved that the territory of 
 California and New Mexico be ceded back to Mexico upon the 
 
 46 
 
payment to us of 1 15,000,000. This monstrous proposal actu- 
 ally passed the Committee of the Whole in the House, so little 
 did our statesmen appreciate or realize the inestimable value of 
 the jewel just added to the diadem of the Nation. 
 
 My friends, I thank you for your kind and patient attention, 
 and while I may have in a measure embraced subjects not con- 
 templated in a response to the toast, you will, in the generosity 
 of your Californian hearts overlook my imperfections. 
 
 The fourth regular toast was 
 
 " The Army and Navy." 
 
 In peace, our pride — in war, our guardian and our hope. 
 
 " Friend of the brave ! in peril's darkest hour, 
 Intrepid virtue looks to thee for power : 
 To thee the heart its trembling homage yields, 
 On stormy floods, and carnage covered fields ! "— 
 
 Campbell ; Pleasures of Hope. 
 
 Music — "Red, White and Blue." "A Life on the Ocean 
 Wave." 
 
 The President introduced Gen. H. 1 . Burnett, who had 
 kindly consented to respond to that portion of the toast refer- 
 ring to the Army, stating that he knew him to be a gallant 
 soldier, and an able, admirable lawyer, and fully competent to 
 do justice to the subject upon which he was to speak. 
 
 Gen. Burnett briefly responded, in a very happy and elo- 
 quent manner, delighting all with the rare charm and graceful- 
 ness of his oratory, readiness and felicity of expression. 
 
 At the conclusion of Gen. Burnett's remarks Commander 
 Richard W. Meade, U. S. Navy, responded for the Navy 
 and spoke as follows : — 
 
 47 
 
Mr. President and Gentlemen : 
 
 I feel very much honored in being called on this evening to 
 respond to the toast which has just been given in our hearing. 
 
 When I saw by the programme that I had been set down to 
 reply for both Army and Navy, I said to myself it is hardly 
 fair, when so many old soldiers are present, as are gathered 
 here to-night, to call on a sailor to respond for the Army ; and 
 I am very grateful to you, Mr. President, for relieving me of 
 this duty, by designating for the task the gentleman who has 
 just preceded me, and who has won our hearts by his eloquent 
 and glowing tribute to the character of that gallant arm of the 
 service with which the Navy is proud to stand, as she has ever 
 done in the past, shoulder to shoulder in defence of the honor, 
 welfare and liberties of the United States of America. 
 
 Therefore you need expect to hear little from my lips to- 
 night in reference to the Army — its deeds and its worthy repre- 
 sentatives speak for it far more eloquently than can any words 
 of mine. But when you ask me to respond for the Navy, I am 
 at home and on familiar ground. 
 
 I am sure that there is no one here who will accuse me of 
 egotism because I say, that of all men in the Navy, I feel that 
 on this particular occasion, I have the fairest right to respond 
 for that branch of the service ; inasmuch as I stand here before 
 you to-night the senior representative of California in the Gov- 
 ernment service. None can represent the State as I do, since 
 my seniority in the Navy is cotemporary with the admission of 
 California to the Federal Union. 
 
 The State was admitted on the 9th day of September, 1850. 
 On the 23d of the same month and year I received my orders 
 to Annapolis. I have only to say regarding myself that I trust 
 my record for this quarter of a century will show that I have 
 endeavored at least to worthily sustain the honor and good 
 name of the Golden State. 
 
 In these days, when it seems as though many otherwise well 
 meaning persons throughout the land, were trying to determine 
 in their own minds whether any Army or Navy is really needed, 
 it may not be amiss to remind such people that the millenium 
 has not yet come. Of course I know that no true Californian 
 will question for a moment the value of the service it is possi- 
 
 .48 
 
ble, at times, for a Navy to render. You all know from what 
 Governor Price has told us this evening, that had it not been 
 for the Navy, and Commodore Sloat's squadron in particular, 
 the Cross of St. George, that " meteor flag of England," and 
 not the Star Spangled Banner would now be floating over the 
 soil of California. 
 
 But our National Legislators, who do not or choose not to 
 remember these things as we do, have a fashion when they get 
 together every year in Washington of weighing the Army and 
 Navy in the Congressional balance, and though I do not think 
 we have ever yet been found wanting, still, having no one es- 
 pecially to plead our cause, and not being politicians ourselves, 
 we stand the chance of all absent ones — ^that of having scant 
 justice done our cause. The constant apprehension of radical 
 and perhaps unjust measures which prevails in the minds of 
 those who, like myself, have embarked for life in the service of 
 their native land, tends not a little to produce depression and 
 discouragement throughout the service. It is for you gentle- 
 men in civil life, at least those of you who wield an influence, to 
 fight our Congressional battle for us. 
 
 There are those high in political station, for instance, who 
 say the Army is too large, and the Navy is not what it ought to 
 be — ^that standing armies are dangerous to liberty ; and then 
 we are treated to that well worn story of the liberties of Rome, 
 sold by the Praetorian guards, and so on, ad nauseam. The 
 question of the proper strength of our military establishment I 
 shall not enter into ; but to my mind it is not only an insult to 
 the American people, but a piece of the most exquisite absurd- 
 ity to say that an army of 25,000 men, scattered in small de- 
 tachments from the St. Lawrence to the Rio Grande, and from 
 the Atlantic to the Pacific; or a Navy of 10,000 seamen, with 
 its less than fifty ships, scattered in every direction on distant 
 seas, can prove dangerous to the liberties of 43,000,000 of 
 American freemen. — " Men who know their rights, and knowing 
 dare maintain." 
 
 No, gentlemen, these are not the armies that are dangerous 
 to our liberties. The danger, if it comes at all, will come from 
 quite another quarter. It will come from that vast and daily 
 increasing army of Federal, State, County and City office 
 seekers and placemen ; and the question for every earnest. 
 
 49 
 
thoughtful citizen within the sound of my voice here to-night 
 is in my opinion the vital question of the day and hour — civil 
 service reform — federal, state and municipal. If we ignore it 
 as we have done since the days of John Quincy Adams, or if 
 we fail to establish civil service everywhere throughout this 
 broad land upon a wise, honest, just and comprehensive basis 
 — military man though I am, I foresee, and warn you solemnly, 
 that our posterity will not celebrate the second centennial of a 
 united Republic. 
 
 But some have dared to say the Navy is not what it ought to 
 be. Then whose fault is it if this be so .' Certainly not ours. 
 A Navy being primarily for the protection of commerce and 
 the dignity of citizenship, should be constructed and maintained 
 in accordance with the commercial and foreign policy of the 
 country, whatever such policy may be. If we have not had a 
 policy then, is it right to charge the Navy with our Congress- 
 ional short comings ? No ! 
 
 The policy of the naval officer, if policy indeed he has, 
 springs from that sentiment which animated the proud citizen 
 of ancient Rome. He has but one principle, and one idea in- 
 flexibly dominating all others in his creed, and that is, to invio- 
 lably protect, under every circumstance, and with all the avail- 
 able power at his command, our citizens engaged in lawful and 
 peaceful avocations abroad ; and history will show that the 
 Navy and its officers have ever done so when the question was 
 left solely to them. 
 
 Let us then have a National policy — a wide, far-reaching and 
 comprehensive policy which successive administrations shall be 
 obliged to adhere to, and which shall be worthy of this great 
 Nation, whose boundaries are so vast, and whose destiny is so 
 sure if its sons are but true to themselves as men ; and let us 
 seek also to embody as a cardinal dogma in the creed of the 
 Nation, that the Army and Navy are for the benefit of the 
 country, not for the personal benefit of individuals, politicians, 
 or political parties. 
 
 50 
 
The fifth regular toast was 
 
 " The Day we Celebrate.'' 
 
 The anniversary of the discovery of gold in California — viewed 
 in the light of subsequent events, it marks one of the grand- 
 est epochs in the history of the world. 
 
 " What is here ? 
 Gold! yellow, glitterins gold!" — Timon of Athens, Act i. 
 
 Music. — " Dio del or." — Faust. 
 
 In response to this sentiment Mr. W. B. Farwell spoke as 
 follows : 
 
 Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Association : 
 
 In the ordinary limit of human existence, a quarter of a cen- 
 tury forms but the minor part. It is the period of infancy, 
 youth and early manhood only. It constitutes but the begin- 
 ning of the real voyage of life ; for beyond it lie all the cares, 
 the storms and sorrows of existence. Yet within a little more 
 than this comparatively brief period how many hurrying, crowd- 
 ing events have we, who are gathered here to-night, witnessed 
 pass us by in solemn and grand procession I How prominent 
 a part have we played in what may be truly accounted as at 
 least one of the rarest marvels in the world's history. But 
 little more than twenty-five years ago, out on the uttermost 
 western fringe of the continent there lay a little hamlet, 
 scarcely deserving the name of village, called Yerba Buena. 
 It consisted of but a few adobe houses, one or more of which 
 had been dignified by being set apart for government purposes, 
 and some other simple structures, none of which assumed more 
 than the most commonplace dignity or character. Along the 
 coast, here and there, slumbered some isolated establishments 
 of the Jesuit fathers known as missions, around which were 
 gathered some fragments of tribes of " Diggers," who existed 
 in a state of the rudest simplicity, content to accept alike the 
 teachings and the charity of their spiritual rulers unchallenged, 
 and probably unconsidered. Along the rich valleys of the inte- 
 rior were located at somewhat remote intervals "many-leagued 
 ranches," the proprietors and dependents of which made up the 
 
 51 
 
-♦-«- 
 
 sparse population of this, then Httle known, and wholly misun- 
 derstood land. 
 
 Over it all lay the dreamy, dull monotony of the most primi- 
 tive pastoral existence ; life there presenting, in the sparse limit 
 of the meagre population which then possessed the land, one 
 common feature of truly Arcadian simplicity, its valleys un- 
 filled, its hillsides the pasturage alike of the herds of the ranch- 
 eros, and the wild denizens of the wilderness. 
 
 The advent of a few adventurous pioneers, representing a 
 higher and more energetic stage of civilization, had begun to 
 break somewhat rudely upon this scene of pastoral simplicity, 
 and the finger of destiny was already pointing to the hour upon 
 the dial when changes more sudden and marvellous than those 
 which we read of in the wondrous Arabian tale were to be 
 surely wrought. 
 
 Twenty-eight years ago to-day, one of these representatives 
 of a more modern civilization, who had found his way to that 
 remote region, and had begun the introduction of a higher 
 scheme of education and civilization than the land had yet wit- 
 nessed, — while engaged in converting a water-course into a 
 mill-race, laid bare some grains of glittering, precious gold, 
 mingled with the sands of the stream which he was seeking 
 to utilize. 
 
 Out of that discovery, what has grown ? The little hamlet 
 that slumbered in peace upon the margin of those western 
 waters has become a great emporium. Verba Buena is among 
 the things almost forgotten, and stately, opulent, San Fran- 
 cisco rises in its place, the sublimest monument of human en- 
 ergy which the century can or will know. Swept away by the 
 swelling tide of immigration that flowed into this promised land, 
 after this discovery of gold, ranches and rancheros have dis- 
 appeared ; and great, populous towns ; farms of princely propor- 
 tions, tens of thousands of thoroughly tilled acres ; manufacto- 
 ries representing every species of industry ; shafts and tunnels 
 piercing her mountain ledges in every direction ; clanking mills, 
 never ceasing their pulsations in beating out the precious 
 metals from the primitive rock, and all the evidences of civili- 
 zation, wealth and prosperity more than marvelous, now greet 
 the eye, where but little more than a quarter of a century ago 
 existed only a land and a people such as I have so faintly 
 
 52 
 
sketched. The land so primitive, and so sparsely populated 
 has become an empire so grand and imposing, as to surpass all 
 the achievements of early or modern civilization, while its 
 future is still more full of promise than its past has been of re- 
 sults. This growth, this marvel, is the legitimate result of the 
 discovery of gold twenty-eight years ago to-day, at Coloma, by 
 that worthiest of all California pioneers and philanthropists, 
 Gen. John A. Sutter; and therefore, "The day we celebrate." 
 
 YoLi, Mr. President, and fellow members of the Association, 
 you and I have not only witnessed this marvellous birth and 
 growth of empire, but we have alike played each his part in its 
 accomplishment. Each of us has his tale of toil and adventure 
 to relate, in connection with this record of human progress, 
 each has performed his fair share of this wondrous work, and 
 each has earned the right to look back with honorable pride 
 upon this sublime achievement. 
 
 This is not the occasion, nor will the brief moment that I am 
 to occupy permit me to review, though ever so concisely, the 
 wondrous history of the settlement and development of Califor- 
 nia as the sequence of that great discovery of gold, on this day 
 that we celebrate, twenty-eight years ago. To you, my fellow 
 members of this association, there is no need to recall the story. 
 But I may, without impropriety, say one word of congratulation 
 of those who, in all that pertains to true manhood in the for- 
 mation and development-of character, have graduated there. 
 
 Speak of those leaders who, during the sad years of our great 
 trial, when the land was writhjng in the throes of an unhappy 
 rebelhon, by their prowess, their heroism, and their sublime 
 patriotism, wrought the salvation of the republic, and the roll 
 call from the chief magistrate of the nation, begins its columns 
 with a long list of those who graduated in the sternest experi- 
 ences of life in California. Grant, Sherman, McPherson, Ord, 
 Halleck, Hooker, Lyon, Baker, Stoneman, Rowan, Farragut, and 
 so on through the record of men whose names to-day form part 
 of the imperishable history of the country, are found examples 
 of this, and we have a right to speak of them and for them, 
 with feelings of fraternal pride. In civil life, the men of this 
 early California experience stand alike conspicuqus ; and we 
 have but to point to some of those among us to-night in exem- 
 plification of this. Our honored friend, Rodman M. Price, who 
 
 S3 
 
has already spoken so eloquently, and so interestingly, lias 
 filled with rare credit and distinction the gubernatorial chair 
 of New Jersey. R. H. McKune, beginning his career almost in 
 boyhood in California, is to-day the honored mayor of one of 
 the most important cities of Pennsylvania. I might go beyond 
 these and fill a long list of those who have been, or are distin- 
 guished and honored in civil life as men of rare energy and at- 
 tainments, but I need not, for they are known to you all. In 
 the commercial world, California men have been and are alike 
 boldly successful ; and here, at my left to-night, sits one who is 
 perhaps, as honored an example as may be found among them 
 all. I allude to Mr. George Howes, the keels of whose fleets 
 literally "vex every sea," and whose name is the synonym of 
 commercial credit and honor. 
 
 Passing by those Cahfornia men who have played these 
 honorable and important parts in the sterner walks of Hfe, 
 and coming to the pleasant fields and pastures of literature, 
 California may well claim for herself a school of ability and wit 
 of her own, which has made her the admiration of the world. 
 From Derby, along through the bright galaxy which have suc- 
 ceeded him, the names of Bret Harte, Mark Twain, and so on 
 through the well known list, we have presented to the world an 
 array of literary talent which may well be regarded as one of 
 the chief marvels of the age. Conspicuous among them all, as 
 the evening planet in the western heavens is conspicuous among 
 the lesser stars, is the name of your honored guest to-night, 
 Joaquin Miller. 
 
 It is for reasons such as these — thus briefly touched upon — 
 that we claim a just pride in having been among the founders 
 of this great western empire. It is because our life, and our 
 adventures there, knitted us together in a lasting social brother- 
 hood, that we gather here year by year to perpetuate the mem- 
 ories that cluster about the marvellous story. We write the 
 " day we celebrate," in the calendar as literally a golden day, 
 and, connecting it in peace and honor with the name of our 
 venerable friend. General John A.- Sutter, we trust in God that 
 our posterity will hold it in perpetual honor and reverence. 
 
 S4 
 
The sixth regular toast. 
 
 " The Pioneers of California." 
 
 The Argonauts of modern days. 
 
 " To them no bounds of empire I assign, 
 Nor term of years to their immortal line." — DryderCs ^Mneid. 
 
 Music. — " Home, Sweet Home." 
 
 Response by James A. Sperry, Esq. 
 Mr. President : 
 
 There is a proverb running in this wise : — that " he who goes 
 wool-gathering may come back shorn," and I suppose this trite 
 saying may be applicable to some of our modern Argonauts who 
 sought the golden fleece in California ; but in the great scramble 
 and conflict of life, there are so many to divide amongst, that 
 some of us must come out with a shorter allowance than we 
 hoped for. 
 
 When we look back a quarter of a century, to the period 
 when the great rush of emigration for California commenced, 
 and recall the events of a few succeeding years, it seems to us 
 almost as a dream. In the unwritten history of the individual 
 experience of the pioneer Californian, there were so many in- 
 cidents, so many changes and chances of fortune, that it is a 
 good thing for us to come together at these' annual re-unions, 
 to revive old associations, renew old time greetings, and talk 
 over our " hair breadth 'scapes " by fire and by flood. 
 
 Even if we have to confess to a little boasting in saying it, 
 the men who emigrated to California during the first few years 
 after the discovery of gold, were the very ones who, by their 
 energy, industry and indomitable pluck, led the way which 
 made it comparatively easy and luxurious for those who fol- 
 lowed. Without this stamp of men as pioneers, to lay the 
 foundation, the grand superstructure upon which we now look 
 with so much pride, might never have been reared. 
 
 Who but men of courage, determination, and staying quali- 
 ties would have started out on any of these " Overland " picnics 
 with which the Plaiss were dotted during the memorable years 
 of 1849 and 1850 — and who but men of nerve and grit would 
 have undertaken those "All around the Horn" excursions in 
 which many of you participated. 
 
 55 
 
Many of us will recall the names of that wonderful fleet of 
 vessels leaving this port in 1849: — the Orpheus, Washington, 
 Taralinta, Panama, Loo Choo, Apollo, and others. Some of 
 them were well advanced in years, and beneath the notice of 
 the underwriters, but still considered good enough fora whaling 
 voyage, or to take passengers to California. In the daily pa- 
 pers and on the dead walls in New York, might have been seen • 
 flaming advertisements in words to this effect: "Ho! for the 
 California gold mines direct, the A i copper fastened, clipper- 
 built ship 'Adventure,' having been purchased by the 'Discov- 
 ery Association,' will have prompt despatch for the gold mines 
 direct, where she will serve as a home for the stockholders while 
 they are digging gold. Only a few shares left; price, two hun- 
 dred dollars." What enterprising, ambitious youth, who could 
 raise the requisite stamps, could resist the temptation to an easy 
 fortune, which was to be expedited by the use of the patent, 
 double back action, hydro-centrifugal gold washers, of which a 
 goodly number were on board, and free to members. Just 
 think! a five hundred ton ship, with one passenger to the ton, 
 and each passenger an owner ; the craft sailed by a vote of the 
 stockholders, and you may imagine the road we iraveled was 
 sometimes a little rough. But the golden Mecca was before us, 
 and after voyaging one hundred and eighty to two hundred 
 days the long sought Golden Gate was entered, and in the vis- 
 ions of unbounded wealth, the itedious six months prison-ship 
 experience was forgotten, and all hearts leaped with joy. AVhen 
 off Clark's Point, down went the anchor ; all was quiet, and 
 doubtless you thought it strange that your gallant ship attracted 
 so little attention. There was but a single person to greet you, 
 who pulled alongside leisurely in his wherry. Two hundred 
 and fifty pairs of eyes were gazing intently upon that solitary 
 boatman. One passenger recognized him, crying, "Ha! Bob, 
 is that you ? " " Who is Bob .''" asked a hundred voices at once. 
 " Why, Bob Martin, the pioneer news collector, of course ! " 
 From him the boys probably learned the first reliable news from 
 the gold mines — ^"plenty of it, but mighty hard work." Then 
 came the landing, pitching tents in the sand hills, prospecting 
 for a little grub, with one eye always wide open for "nuggets," 
 you expected to see laying around loose — then inquiries for the 
 promised land, which you soon found was over the hills and far 
 
 56 
 
away, to reach which involved an expenditure of treasure equal 
 to the cost of a share in the clipper ship Adventure Association. 
 You may have had left in your trousers a ten cent coin to 
 start in life again, with strangers in a strange land. Can any 
 of you remember the peculiar sensation produced on your 
 nervous system when you learned that list of prices of necessa- 
 ries. There it is among the mottoes and decorations in this 
 dining hall; read it for yourselves, gentlemen. 
 
 But, while the imagination sometimes pictured the future in 
 roseate hues, the pioneers soon learned that good hard work 
 was to be done; they proved equal to the emergency, and were 
 not over particular as to the kind of labor, so long as it 
 brought the dollars and the rations. Perhaps, to raise a stake, 
 some of you, like myself, may have mixed mud, and climbed 
 aloft with it to the brevet brick layer who cried, in a command- 
 ing tone, "more mort;" perhaps, like one of our distinguished 
 judges, you may have painted at a house front, at an ounce an 
 hour, or pitched sand from a cellar excavation, as did a talented 
 young divine, whose professional occupation was, for the time 
 being, gone. The fact is, gentlemen, as you all know, it was 
 "root hog, or die." Some of us, having accumulated sufficient 
 bullion to take us to the mines, paid three gold ounces for a 
 deck passage on one of the small schooners or sloops coursing 
 the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers; reaching the em- 
 barcadero, negotiated with one of the crowd of teamsters to 
 transport your traps for one dollar a pound, with the privilege 
 of walking near the wagon, helping it out of mud holes and 
 through rough places, and of sleeping alongside the off mule at 
 night. What an excitement ! what hopes and fears ! What a 
 jargon, what a Babel, where men of every name and nation, of 
 every kindred and tongue, were pressing on to be the first to 
 secure the gold, lest it should all be gone! 
 
 , With a shovel at $16.00, pick $15.00, pan 16. 00, rocker §60, 
 the outfit of tools was considered complete ; and, scattered far 
 and wide, the pick and the shovel of the "honest miner" delved 
 into the bowels of the earth and unbosomed the ghttering, yel- 
 low gold. The busy hum of other industries followed ; water- 
 ditches were dug, roads made, towns built, and a new civiliza- 
 tion wrought in that country by the hardy pioneers. 
 
 57 
 
 ■r 
 
" A thousand fantasies 
 Begin to throng into my memory, 
 Of calling shapes, and beckoning shadows dire, 
 And airy tongues, tliat syllable men's names 
 On sands, and shores, and desert wildernesses!" 
 
 I might continue, Mr. President, but even a brief recital of 
 pioneer experiences would require hours instead of the few 
 minutes to be spared this evening. In whatever manner Dame 
 Fortune may have treated us, I am sure that not one of us re- 
 grets our early California pilgrimage — not one who fails to 
 rejoice at her marvellous advancement, remembering with 
 just pride that he was one of the founders of the great Empire 
 of the West. 
 
 The seventh regular toast. 
 
 General John A. Sutter. 
 
 The pioneer and philanthropist, weighted alike with years and 
 honors. May his decHning days be as full of peace and 
 prosperity as his heart and hand were always full of kindness 
 and charity toward his fellow men. 
 
 " O ! good old man ! how well in thee appears 
 The constant service of the antique world. 
 When service sweat for duty, not for meed ! 
 Thou art not for the fashion of these times, 
 Where none will sweat, but for promotion." — 
 
 Ai You Like It. Act 8, 8c. 3. 
 
 Music. — "Hail to the Chief." 
 
 Response by Gen. Thos. D. Johns. 
 
 Mr. President and Gentlemen : 
 
 We have just heard read an unwelcome letter, written at the 
 dictation of General Sutter, from a sick bed. You will join me 
 in expressions of sincere sympathy with him in his affliction, and 
 of disappointment and regret that he is not with us this even- 
 ing; for I know his generous heart would swell with emotion 
 in meeting again so many of his old friends, and, in his simple, 
 
 S8 
 
heartfelt words, he would tender a courteous acknowledgnient 
 of our continued remembrance. But his presence here is not 
 needed to revive memories of other days in which he was a 
 prominent actor ; for, present or absent, he is never forgotten. 
 
 The hearty applause and warm greeting we have heard from 
 every part of this banquet hall at the mention of the name of 
 the venerable Sutter, constitutes a sufficient, and most signifi- 
 cant response to the toast just announced; even had I the 
 power of speech, and the gift of eloquence, my words would fail 
 to express, as does this spontaneous outburst of your hearts, 
 the love and esteem with which we regard our distinguished 
 friend. 
 
 To the older Californians present. General Sutter is per- 
 sonally known ; to all of us the history of his benefactions is 
 familiar. We take pride in claiming him more particularly as 
 our own, because California was the principal field of his. hu- 
 mane labors, and some of us were not only witnesses, but par- 
 takers of his bounty. Nor is his fame limited by the boundary 
 lines of the State of California,; it reaches wherever Christian 
 philanthropy and open handed, unostentatious charity have 
 admirers. 
 
 Nearly forty years have elapsed since Sutter was first a pio- 
 neer in California; the discovery of gold found him proprietor 
 of a princely landed estate, with flocks and herds numbering 
 thousands — with hundreds of dependants, among whom he was 
 a beloved patriarch. With a wealth and power unequalled in 
 those days, he wielded both, not so much for his own benefit as 
 for the good of others. With a presence commanding and 
 dignified, his intercourse with all was kind and courteous. 
 He was liberal and gen(^rous to a fault, giving to the destitute, 
 feeding the hungry, and clothing the naked, without expectation 
 or desire of reward, other than the gratification he experienced 
 in relieving the wants of his fellow man. 
 
 The days of '49 and '50 needed such a benefactor; for the 
 great rush of immigration into California found thousands there 
 destitute and unprovided. The distressed adventurer, the dis- 
 appointed gold seeker, the weary, homeless immigrant, the 
 widow and the fatherless, alike found a refuge in his heart and 
 in his hospitality. 
 
 Confiding as he was generous, the sweeping progress of events. 
 
 59 
 
with which, in his simple, pastoral life, he could not keep pace, 
 finally bereft him of his possessions. But they cannot rob him 
 of the satisfaction he feels in reviewing the work of a well spent 
 life — they cannot obliterate the enduring record of his good 
 deeds, or dim the lustre of his well earned fame ! 
 
 " He hath a tear for pity, and a hand 
 Open as day to mBlting charity." 
 
 Pioneers ! Californians ! in endeavoring to honor General 
 Sutter this evening, our words fall short of his deserts; but let 
 us continue to cherish that reputation earned by a hfe of hon- 
 orable and unselfish devotion to humanity — let us, in his now 
 declining years, send him words of good cheer ; let us hold him 
 up as an exemplar of that sublime charity which compasseth all 
 other virtues, so, when he has gone, and we too shall have passed 
 away, our children and our children's children will rise up and 
 call him blessed. 
 
 Eighth regular toast. 
 
 " Stevenson's Regiment." 
 
 The Empire State's noblest contribution to the conquest, de- 
 velopment and civilization of the Golden State. 
 
 " Now are our brows bound with victorious wreaths : 
 Our bruised arms hung up for monuments ; 
 Our stern alarums chang'd to merry meetings, 
 Our dreadful marches to delightful measures." — 
 
 nichard III. Act 1, Sc. 1. 
 
 Music. — " Rataplan." — The Huguenots. 
 
 Response by Francis D. Clark, a former member of the 
 Regiment. 
 
 Mr. President, Guests and Associates : 
 
 In consequence of the severe illness which has prostrated our 
 associate, Lieut. Sherwood, of the Regiment, it has devolved 
 upon myself to respond for my comrades. And in behalf of 
 those present, as also those who are now on the far off Pacific 
 
 60 
 
Coast, I thank you for the honor bestowed upon our old organ- 
 ization and the generous sentiment uttered. 
 
 Few of the present residents of the Empire City have a re- 
 collection of the California Expedition which was organized 
 during the summer of 1846, under authority of James K. Polk, 
 President of the United States, for the occupancy and settle- 
 ment of that then far off land. 
 
 On Saturday morning, the first of August, 1846, ere the sun 
 had risen, the members of the regiment assembled at their re- 
 spective rendezvous, and with no other music than that of their 
 own foot falls, marched through the silent city en-route to 
 Governor's Island. Arriving at the foot of Whitehall Street, 
 they were embarked on board the steamboat Sampson, and 
 were soon transferred to the Island, where they partook of their 
 first breakfast at the expense of Uncle Sam ; and ere the sun 
 had fallen on that, to them, memorable day, the tents of their 
 encampment were pitched on the western slope of the Island. 
 
 During the following six weeks the regiment underwent a 
 strict course of military instruction ; and as the Lieut.-Col., 
 Major, three Captains and several Lieutenants were graduates 
 of the Academy at West Point, their character and habits were 
 such as to insure a line of conduct that would instil into the 
 men a due regard for discipline, and a spirit of obedience, which 
 to many of them, who were mere youths, was a new feature in 
 their lives ; at the same time, a training well calculated to pre- 
 pare their young minds for the duties that were to devolve upon 
 them as soldiers, settlers and citizens in the empire they were 
 to be instrumental in founding upon the far off Pacific Coast. 
 
 On the 1 8th of September, the regiment embarked on board 
 the ships, Thomas H. Perkins, Susan Drew and Loo-Choo, 
 and that day sailed on their long and monotonous voyage to 
 the then far off northwest coast. These vessels were fol- 
 lowed by the ships Brutus, Isabella and Sweden, with three 
 hundred additional men for the regiment. The voyage was 
 relieved of its weariness by a short stop at Rio de Janerio 
 and Valparaiso, with the exception of the Brutus, which made 
 no stop until her arrival out. The Thomas H. Perkins was 
 the first to arrive at Yerba Buena, soon after followed by 
 the others of the fleet. 
 
 Col. Stevenson upon his arrival, found the country in the quiet 
 
 61 
 
possession of the naval forces, who were only too glad to be re- 
 lieved from garrison or guard duty. Whatever thought or in- 
 tention the native population or the Mexican officials may have 
 entertained of re-taking the country, the arrival of this regiment 
 convinced them of the uselessness of the effort. - 
 
 Col. R. B. Mason, then commanding that military depart- 
 ment, directed the assignment of the companies to the various 
 towns or missions. A, B and F, to Santa Barbara, under 
 Lieut. Col. Burton. E and G to Los Angelos, under Col. Ste- 
 venson. H and K to the Presidio, at San Francisco, under 
 Major Hardie. C to Sonoma, under Captain Brackett. I and 
 D to Monterey, the Headquarters of the loth Military Depart- 
 ment, at which post was also stationed Co. F, 3d U. S. Artillery. 
 Gen. William T. Sherman, then a Lieut, of the 3d U. S. Artil- 
 lery, was the Acting Assistant Adjutant-General of the De- 
 partment. 
 
 In July, 1847, Col. Mason directed Lieut. Col. Burton to 
 embark with Co's A and B on board the storeship Lexington, 
 and proceed to La Paz, Lower California, there to reHeve the 
 Naval forces holding that place. And while these two com- 
 panies were stationed at La Paz, they withstood a siege of 
 thirty days ; and the official records bear testimony to the gal- 
 lant conduct of the 'men. Four of the number are now with us 
 at this festive board. In March, 1848, Col. Mason despatched 
 the ship Isabella with Co. D, and one hundred and fourteen 
 recruits to La Paz to reinforce Lieut. Col. Burton, in order that 
 that officer could have force sufficient to enable him to march 
 into the interior and dispel the Mexican forces then in the pen- 
 insula. 
 
 Upon the arrival of these additional troops at La Paz, Col. 
 Burton organized an expedition, and took up the line of march 
 for San Antonio and Todas Santos. At the former place the 
 Mexican Gen. Pineda was captured ; and at the latter an en- 
 gagement took place with a body of Mexican Cavalry, in which 
 they were put to flight with considerable loss. Upon the return 
 of the command to La Paz, Col. Burton assigned Co. D, under 
 Captain Naglee, to the duty of garrisoning San Jose del Cabo, 
 a few miles north of Cape San Lucas, on the Gulf. 
 
 These three companies remained in Lower California until 
 the month of September, when they embarked on board the 
 
 62 
 
-•--*- 
 4 
 
 .ship-of-the-line Ohio, under command of Commodore Jones, 
 and sailed for Monterey, Upper California, at which port the 
 ship arrived after a passage of forty days. And on the 23d and 
 24th days of October, 1848, these, the last companies of the 
 regiment, were mustered out of the service by reason of the 
 close of the Mexican War. 
 
 The attention of the men, after their discharge from the Army, 
 was turned to making preparation for their departure to the 
 gold mines, a distance of two hundred and fifty miles from Old 
 Monterey. And as the Government officials had granted the 
 men two months rations on their discharge, they were, in a 
 measure, able to care for themselves until- the results of their 
 labor at the gold diggings placed the means in their hands for 
 the purchase of aidditional suppHes. 
 
 Time will not permit of my entering into the details of our 
 first winter, 1848-9, in the mountains, but I am confident that 
 at no subsequent period of the -mining history has life and pro- 
 ! perty been safer, or honesty more closely observed. And the 
 hospitality extended to strangers in travelling from one camp to 
 another, was that indeed of brotherly love. 
 
 In common with my comrades, I feel a pride in that it was 
 my good fortune to have been one of this early band of pioneers 
 to California; and the subsequent career of many of its mem- 
 bers has reflected honor and credit upon the organization. 
 Three of its members have stood in the National Capitoi as 
 members of the House of Representatives. One was for many 
 years the Clerk of the Supreme Court of California. Eight 
 were members of the Convention which framed the Constitution 
 of the State of California. Three have been District Judges ; 
 while many have been editors, bankers, members of both branches 
 of the State Legislature of California, and in almost every county 
 of the State they have held offices of honor and responsibility. 
 Even at this day, members of the old regiment are among the 
 most worthy and wealthy of California's citizens. 
 
 Of the survivors, Col. Stevenson is now a resident of San 
 Francisco, as energetic as when he organized his expedition 
 thirty years ago. He is at this time the shipping Commissioner 
 of that port. During the twenty-eight years of his residence 
 at San Francisco, he has been esteemed as one of her upright 
 and honorable citizens. Major James A. Hardie is now a 
 
 63 
 
 -H.^^ 
 
Major-General of the U. S. Army, and holds the position of In- 
 spector-General. Captain H. M. Naglee, Co. D, is a gentleman 
 of wealth, and resides at San Jose, devoting his time to the pro- 
 duction of brandies that shall compare with the best produced 
 in France. He was a Brigadier-General in the Army of the 
 Potomac during the late civil war, having command of a divi- 
 sion in Hooker's corps. Captain Nelson Taylor, Co. E, also 
 retired from active business, resides at South Norwalk, Conn. 
 He also was a Brigadier-General, commanding a division in the 
 same corps of the Army of the Potomac. Captain F. J. Lippitt, 
 Co. F, was also a Brigadier-General in the late war. He is now 
 practising law at Washington, D. C. Captain Seymour G. Steele, 
 Co. A, now resides in Klamath Co., Cal., and is owner of ex- 
 tensive saw-mills in that section. Captain John B. Frisbee, 
 Co. H, is one of the wealthy citizens of California. He married 
 a daughter of Gen. M. G. Vallejo, of Sonoma, and has for many 
 years been a large land holder in California. 
 
 In the late civil war, our old regiment furnished six Brigadier- « 
 Generals, viz., Burton, Hardie, Taylor, Lippitt, Naglee and 
 Christian ; the latter a private soldier in old Co. K ; and many 
 others of the privates held commissions as Majors, Captains 
 and Lieutenants. 
 
 The members of this old regiment never asked or received 
 State or National aid. As a rule they are able to care for them- 
 sel-\i(es, and many of the survivors are men of wealth. 
 
 But, Mr. President, I have already encroached upon the time 
 allotted to others. Thanking you, and all present, for their pa- 
 tience, I will ask your indulgence for a moment longer while I 
 read an extract from a work entitled the Natural Wealth of 
 California, by Titus Fey Cronise, published at San Francisco 
 in 1868, twenty years subsequent to the discharge of the regi- 
 ment. 
 
 ■' Another valuable accession to the early settlers was made 
 by the arrival of Col. Stevenson's regiment of California Vol- 
 unteers, consisting of nearly one thousand rank and file. 
 * * * * • * 
 
 " The men comprising this regiment were selected partic- 
 ularly with the object of their becoming settlers in the country; 
 many of them have become permanent and honored citizens of 
 the State. In its ranks, as privates, were sons of Senators and 
 
 64 
 
X 
 
 Representatives in Congress, lawyers, doctors, editors, printers 
 and representatives of nearly every trade, who were all permit- 
 ted to bring tools and materials for carrying on their respective 
 occupations, being in striking contrast to the soldiers sent here 
 
 in former days by the Mexican Government. 
 
 * * * * * 
 
 " The volunteer service of the United States has been hon- 
 ored by the exemplary conduct of the members of Col. Steven- 
 son's regiment." 
 
 In conclusion, it affords me pleasure to read this letter just 
 received from my old comrade, and our associate, Lieut. Sher- 
 wood, written on a sick bed. 
 
 New Yokk, January 18, 1876. 
 Dear Feakk: 
 
 You will favor me by reading to tlie Society, the enclosed letter, as I 
 suppose it would have fallen to myself to respond for our old regiment ; 
 if so, I claim the right yet; for, although I am prostrated by sickness, 
 I want my chair kept vacant. I shall be with yon iu thought, if not 
 in person. j. g. 
 
 Mr. President and Associates: 
 
 There is some particular event in the early history of almost every 
 man that stands forth prominently above all others, which in after years 
 is a source of pride and satisfaction. 1 opine that with the great muss 
 of men connected with Colonel Stevenson's 1st Regiment, N. T. Vols., 
 which served in California during the Mexican War, the fact of their 
 having been members of that regiment is that particular event, influ- 
 enced not by the venum and malice of domestic strife, but by the true 
 patriotism that makes men heroes, they offered their services without 
 hope of other reward than their small monthly stipend, and gladly 
 accepted what was at the time considered a most hazardous undertaking 
 for one regiment, the conquest and occupancy of California ! 
 
 There are those who may sneer at the almost bloodless record of the 
 regiment, but the events of subsequent years have proven by the action 
 of its members in the tented field, the legislative halls of the nation, in 
 the wielding of public opinion through the management of the press, 
 and through their influence in social and political life, that they were 
 worthy the trust reposed in them by President Polk, in 1846, 
 
 J. SHERWOOD, 
 Formerly Lieut. Co. P, 1st Reg't, N. Y. Vols. 
 
 6S 
 
Ninth regular toast. 
 
 ^'' The Veterans of the Mexican War." 
 
 Emulous of the deeds of Cortez, they subdued the descendants 
 of the Conquistadores. 
 
 " He that outlives tliis day, and comes safe home, 
 
 "Will stand a tip toe when this day is named. 
 
 * « * , # w 
 
 He that shall live this day, and see old age, 
 
 "Will yearly on the viffil feast his friends, 
 
 And say « * * * 
 
 "What feats he did that day ; then shall our names. 
 
 Familiar in their mouths as household words, 
 
 Be in their flowing cups freshly remeraber'd."— 
 
 King Henry V. Act 4, Sc. 3. 
 
 Music. — "Gen. Scott's Entry into Mexico March." 
 
 Response by Col. Wm. Linn Tidball, President of New 
 York Associated "Veterans. 
 
 Mr. President and Gentlemen : 
 
 Personally I have no right to appear among the Pioneers of 
 California. I was not one of those who served their country 
 in the war with Mexico, on the coast of the Pacific ; nor yet 
 one of those who adventured to the great occidental Eldorado 
 in the territorial days of that remarkable country, now distin- 
 guished by the peculiar cognomen of 'Forty-niners. But as the 
 presiding officer of an association, which includes among its 
 members many of the Pioneers of California, I may be per- 
 mitted, on this occasion, to respond to the toast — ^The Veterans 
 of the Mexican War. 
 
 Among the pioneers of California, the soldiers and sailors 
 who conquered and captured that country are entitled to the 
 distinctive appellation of the primitive pioneers. They were 
 the first to set foot upon the golden soil, and to their presence 
 and prowess we are indebted for our possession of that country. 
 The pioneers of this class were not numerous, — a regiment of 
 New York "Volunteers, a battalion of explorers and frontiers- 
 men, the sailors of the Pacific squadron, and the Army of the 
 West, — in all a few thousand men. Isolated from the other 
 armies in Mexico, and far beyond the reach of succor from any 
 
 66 
 
quarter, they were obliged to depend upon themselves and each 
 other, not only for support against the attacks of the enemy, 
 but for the very safety of their lives. 
 
 The battles in vrhich they participated, though not so fierce 
 and furious, so dangerous and destructive, as those fought in 
 the Sierra Madre Mountains and Valley of Mexico, were nev- 
 ertheless of the utmost importance to our government. The 
 capture of Monterey, by Commodore Sloat, and Yerba Buena, 
 by Captain Montgomery, prepared the way for the subsequent 
 capture of Puabla de los Angeles and Santa Barbara by Com- 
 modire Stockton and Major Fremont, though the latter exploits 
 were not achieved without battle and bravery, and some of the 
 best blood of the "boys in blue." The battle of San Pasqual, 
 in which the Army of the West, under Kearny, encountered a 
 large body of the enemy on their arrival in California ; the sub- 
 sequent battles of San Gabrielle and Mesa, fought by the same 
 army, assisted by Stockton and Fremont ; and the siege of La 
 Paz, in which a portion of Stevenson's command held the town 
 for thirty days against a greatly superior force, were all con- 
 ducted with such skill, maintained with such gallantry, and 
 crowned with such success, that the boastful enemy dispersed 
 and disappeared, leaving our victorious forces in undisputed 
 possession of the Pacific coast and country from Van Couver's 
 Island to Cape San Lucas. 
 
 It happened in California, as it did in other parts of Mexico, 
 that some of the soldiers and sailors, owing to the peculiar 
 duties assigned them, were never under the fire of the enemy. 
 It is a notion widely entertained, but in the highest degree erro- 
 neous, that a soldier is not deserving the name, unless he has, 
 at some time of his service, risked his life in battle. The sen- 
 tinel who stands guard over the sick in hospital, or over the 
 stores of the commissary or quarter-master, deserves as well of 
 his country as he who fights in the front rank and escapes with- 
 out injury. 
 
 "Honor and shame from no condition rise; 
 Act well your part, there all the honor lies." 
 
 It would be impossible, in the brief space allowable for a 
 post-prandial speech, to portray the gallant deeds of all who 
 served their country in the army and navy on the coast of the 
 
 67 
 
Pacific during the war with Mexico. But it would be ah-nost 
 disrespectful to the memory of the exalted dead, not to men- 
 tion, on an occasion of this character, the names of Sloat, 
 Stockton, Shubrick, Montgomery and Du Pont, of the navy; 
 and of Kearny, Mason, Halleck, and Burton, of the army. 
 Conspicuous among the living who served in California during 
 that war, and then, or afterwards, achieved distinction in the 
 defence of their country, are Sherman, Ord and Fremont, of the 
 army ; and Rowan, Stanley and Revere, of the navy. In ad- 
 dition to these, there are three officers entitled to mention in 
 this connection, who, after serving elsewhere in Mexico during 
 the war, were ordered to California on the return to peace — 
 Percifer F. Smith, who commanded on the coast of the Pacific 
 until his death; Hooker, distinguished for his. grand achieve- 
 ments in the recent rebeUion, the first president of the New 
 York Association of Veterans of the Mexican War; and Gib- 
 son, also distinguished in the rebeUion, the honored president, 
 gentlemen, of your own Association. 
 
 It is now more than a quarter of a century since the war with 
 Mexico terminated, and of the 80,000 men engaged in that 
 struggle, it is estimated that more than seven tenths have 
 passed from time to eternity. Of the remaining tenth, a very 
 large proportion are now far down on the Pacific slope of life, 
 while the youngest of them — the drummer boys of the army, 
 and the powder monkeys of the navy — have attained an av- 
 erage age of more than fifty years. Many of the survivors, — 
 indeed, many of those who served in CaUfornia, are this day as 
 poor as when they shouldered muskets in defence of their 
 country. Some of them, entitled to be here on this occasion, 
 are constrained by poverty to forego the pleasure of meeting 
 their fellow-pioneers at this happy annual re-union. And now, 
 gentlemen, I appeal to your hearts, ought such things to be in 
 a Republican government 1 Is it not ingratitude to allow men 
 who served their country faithfully in the hour of greatest need, 
 to sink through the " Slough of Despond," into the sea of starv- 
 ation ? 
 
 In the second year of the Revolutionary War, and from that 
 time to the dissolution of the last survivor of that sanguinary 
 struggle, pensions more or less liberal were bestowed upon 
 those who served and survived. The soldiers and sailors of the 
 
 68 
 
war of 1 812, have also been the recipients of bounties and 
 pensions, from the benefits of which none are now excluded. 
 But the survivors of the Mexican war, if we except a small gra- 
 tuity at the close of the war,, have never received any recogni- 
 tion and reward from Government for their gallant services in 
 a contest which has added more to the material wealth and 
 prosperity of their country, than all the other wars in which this 
 Government has been engaged. 
 
 Two winters ago, the survivors of the war with Mexico me- 
 morialized Congress to grant them a small pension of eight 
 dollars a month during their natural lives. Their memorial, 
 and a bill thereto attached, were referred to the Committee on 
 Invalid Pensions, in whose hands it was allowed to slumber to 
 the close of the session. Last winter the memorial was renew- 
 ed, and through the special exertions of a few individuals who 
 visited Washington for that purpose, a favorable report was se- 
 cured. This year the memorial has been presented again, and 
 again referred to the same committee. It now remains to be 
 seen whether the Democrats, who claim the credit of that "war, 
 and the glory and grandeur of its renowned results, will aid the 
 laudable efforts of the poor aged soldier and sailor by whom it 
 was waged and won. If they do not, where are the aged, de- 
 crepid, penniless survivors of that struggle to look for remem- 
 brance and reward.' Only this miserable consolation will be 
 left them, — that if Government will not enable them to live like 
 men, it cannot deprive them of their patriotism and the poor 
 privilege of dying like solders. 
 
 69 
 
Tenth regular toast. 
 
 " The Memory of our Gallant Dead, whose sacred dust is min- 
 gled with the soil of Mexico and California. — They came at 
 their country's call, and offered up their lives in their country's 
 service." 
 
 " The muflflerl drum's sad roll has beat 
 
 The soldier's last tattoo ; 
 No more on life's parade shall meet, 
 
 The brave and daring few. 
 On fame's eternal camping ground, 
 
 Their silent tents are spread, 
 And glory guards with solemn round 
 
 The bivouac of the dead ! " — 
 
 Col. T. O'Eaea : Kentucky's Dead. 
 Music. — " Ave Maria." — Schuberth. 
 Response by Col. James M. Turner. 
 Mr. President and Gentlemen : 
 
 I am not indifferent to the fact that the oratorical and poetic 
 genius of our common country has, from time to time, been 
 called into requisition to do justice to the memories of our im- 
 mortal dead, who fell upon the memorable battlefields of Mex- 
 ico and Cahfornia. 
 
 I assume the pleasing duty imposed upon me, fully conscious 
 of my own inability to do the subject matter of the sentiment 
 just read, the justice it deserves at this time, and in the presence 
 of this assemblage. And yet I regard it as being eminently 
 proper that " The Associated Pioneers of the Territorial Days 
 of California," should bear in prominent and sacred remem- 
 brance the heroic dead, who in a measure offered up their lives, 
 not only in sustaining the untarnished honor of their country, 
 but that her people might enjoy the very privileges they are 
 now so happily blessed with in California. 
 
 At the commencement of our war with Mexico, it was not a 
 question of who should be forced to brave the dangers of the 
 strife, but the authorities were taxed to select from the many 
 thousands that volunteered their services. How well our ar- 
 
 70 
 
mies behaved in upholding the honor of our country is imper- 
 fectly recorded upon the Nation's history. 
 
 It would be unjust to the memory of the dead who fell on the 
 battle fields of- Mexico and California, as well as to those who 
 still survive, did I attempt to draw here invidious comparison, 
 or name one in preference to another. All done nobly ; better 
 or braver troops never faced an enemy, or won a battle. And 
 brilliant as was the conduct of the oiBcers of every grade in 
 their feats of valor that reflected such glory upon the American 
 arms, no fact in the history of that war stands out more proudly 
 and gratefully to the observation of our peoples than did the 
 order, steadiness and conspicuous valor of the rank and file. 
 
 Again, you will bear in mind that a large portion of the sol- 
 diers that served in the war with Mexico, and who founded the 
 mighty State of California, were volunteers, and young men — 
 so to speak, the jentieled blood of our Nation. From such ma- 
 terial we have, in the hour of emergency, made our defenders ; 
 they are the only sovereigns we know; they can protect our 
 National honor, create our laws, and build great States. Hence, 
 for my country, I entertain no fear of the future. There is no 
 retrograde movement in our creation ; the rising generation of 
 to-day are as true to the Republic and as faithful to her inter- 
 ests as any born in the past ; and we can reasonabh- hope that 
 they are not now, and will never be, indifferent in their homage 
 due the memory of the gallant men who bore the burdens, 
 and faced the dangers of the battle fields in Mexico and 
 California. 
 
 Of the heroic dead, we can quote from one of America's 
 most gifted poets, the lamented Gen. George P. Morris : 
 
 " The shrouded flag — the drooping spear — 
 The muffled drum — the solemn bell — 
 The funeral train — the dirge — the'bier — 
 The mourner's sad and last farewell — 
 Are fading tributes to the worth 
 Of those whose deeds tliis homage claims ; 
 But Time, who mingles them with earth, 
 Keeps green the garlands of their fame." 
 
 71 
 
Eleventh regular toast. 
 
 " The Cities of N'ew York and San Francisco. 
 
 America's proudest emporiums and grandest hope. 
 
 " Their past secure, their destiny sublime, 
 The world will tribute pay through endless time, 
 In ceaseless commerce piercing every clime." — Jdhmon. 
 
 Music. "America." 
 
 To the Hon. S. B. H. Vance, ex-Mayor of the City of New 
 York, had been assigned the response to this toast ; but as 
 another engagement required his withdrawal at an earlier hour, 
 Mr. Charles DeYoung, of the San Francisco Chronicle, was 
 called upon by the President, and responded, — giving many 
 interesting statistics in regard to the progress of the two great 
 cosmopolitan cities of our country. 
 
 Twelfth regular toast. 
 
 " Our Merchants and our Mercantile Marine." 
 
 Their " argosies with portly sail, — 
 
 Like signiors and rich burghers of the flood. 
 
 Or, as it were, the pageants of the sea, — 
 
 Do overpeer the petty traffickers, 
 
 That curt'sy to them, * * * 
 
 As they fly by them with their woven wings ! " — 
 
 Merchant of Venice. Act. 1, Sc. 1. 
 
 Music. — " Matroslied." — Phantom Ship. 
 
 Mr. James P. Robinson, an old Californian, responded 
 briefly to the toast, alluding to the inappropriateness of select- 
 ing a railroad man to speak for those who go down into the sea 
 in ships, and whose ways are not of iron, but in the deep 
 waters. He sang, in conclusion, a song (a parody), " Here's a 
 health to the California bound." 
 
 72 
 
Thirteenth regular toast. 
 
 " Our Sister Pioneer Associations of the Pacific Coast." 
 
 Children of the same parentage ; even this broad continent of a 
 thousand leagues of mountain and stream, cannot divide our 
 hearts. 
 
 " Unhappy he who from the first of joys 
 Society, cut off, is left alone 
 Amid this world of death." — Thomson. 
 
 Music. — " Auld Lang Syne." 
 Response by Gen. F. E. Pinto. 
 Mr. President and Gentlemen : 
 
 I feel that I hardly have authority or right to respond to this 
 toast ; you impress me' into the service, however, and, in the 
 absence of an acknowledged representative of any of these 
 Associations, I take great pleasure in returning thanks to you in 
 behalf of the Pioneer Associations of California, for your com- 
 plimentary allusions and friendly remembrance. 
 
 We were once in California together, labored side by side, 
 endured the same hardships, were animated by the same im- 
 pulses, and shared in the adversity as well as in the prosperity, 
 of those early, eventful days. In times of danger and difficulty, 
 and during the period of important events, men form associa- 
 tions, sympathies and attachments which often continue through 
 life, no matter in what portion of the globe they may be located. 
 This sympathetic feeling brings us together this evening; it has 
 led to the formation of this organization to perpetuate the 
 memories of our early California experience, and keep bright 
 the good record of the early California Pioneers. I am sure, 
 Mr. President, that our sister Associations of the Pacific Coast 
 will congratulate us, and extend the hand of fellowship as in 
 days of old. 
 
 73 
 
Fourteenth regular toast. 
 " Woman." 
 
 " O woman ! lovely woman ! nature made thee 
 To temper man ; we had been brutes without you, 
 Angels are painted fair, to look like you : 
 There's in you all that we believe of Heaven; 
 Amazinft brightness, purity, and truth. 
 Eternal joy, and everlasting love ! " — 
 
 Venice Preserved. Act. 1, Sc. 1. 
 
 Music. — "M'Appari tutt' Amor," and Quintette finale." — 
 3 I Act Martha. 
 
 Col. John A. Godfrey, formerly Assistant District Attorney 
 of the United States for California, at San Francisco, and sub- 
 sequently Consul General of the United States for the West 
 Coast of Mexico, being called upon to respond, said : 
 
 Gentlemen and Associated Pioneers of California : 
 
 I was only apprized this morning that the agreeable duty of 
 responding to the toast and sentiment of " Lovely Woman," was 
 assigned to me. Why I was selected I cannot divine, when 'l 
 see around me old friends, old lovers, those more experienced, 
 and who can more fittingly pay tribute to the sex. 
 
 I have closely watched the proceedings to-night at this ban- 
 quet table, and have listened attentively, and with pleasing 
 emotions, to the many experiences of my old California friends, 
 as they have spoken of the great wealth of the Pacific State, of 
 the many hardships and trials they had undergone, and the 
 glowing tribute paid to our Army and Navy ; but not a word 
 has been uttered in behalf of lovely woman. We have here to- 
 night the products of Cahfornia, in the shape of two handsome 
 young fellows, John A. Sutter, Jr., and Frederick Brumagin, 
 natives of the golden State ; and are they not contributions of 
 lovely woman of California .? 
 
 I have personally many delightful reminiscences of California, 
 and especially the association of the beautiful women of that 
 State, "whose eyes might call up smiles in deserts." It is ever 
 green in my memory and I would be false to its duty were I to 
 
 74 
 
forget them. My friends, we have been charmed to-night with 
 beautiful music ; and is not music akin to lovely woman ? 
 
 Liffht to thy path bright creature ! I would charm 
 Thy beiii^' itl ooiild, that It should be 
 Even as now thou dreamest, aud flow on 
 Thus innocent, and beautiful to Heaven. 
 
 Yes ! my friends, lovely woman, behold her everywhere — the 
 paragon of intellectual, moral and physical beauty — the queen 
 of the earth — the charm of society — the best companion, ad- 
 viser, guide and friend of man, the better half of humanity. 
 She calls around her the creation of art and poetry, herself the 
 loveliest creation of them both, — she turns discord into har- 
 mony, — and with meek and soul-subduing submission, she ac- 
 cepts the nrost burdensome conditions of existence, and without 
 a murmur leaves the enchanted bowers, in which her youth had 
 passed, to tread the rugged and thorny ways of duty, through 
 the stern realities of life itself, leaving to those surviving her, 
 the sacred blessings of her spotless example, and the undying 
 memory of her dying smile — 
 
 The flush of youth soon passes from the face. 
 The spells of fancy, from the mind depart, 
 Tlie form m:iy loose its symmetry, its gi-ace, 
 But time can claim no victory o'er tlie heart. 
 
 Allow me to close with the following sentiment : 
 
 Woman ! lovely woman ! — Soft and gentle as the moonbeams 
 which play upon the troubled waters, is the smile of beauty, 
 shed on the waves of national afflictions. 
 
 7S 
 
i^ 
 
 Fifteenth and last regular toast. 
 
 " The Press." 
 
 " Man's noblest mission to advance, 
 His woes assuage, his weal eulianue ; 
 His I'Iglits enforce, his wrongs redress, 
 Mightiest of mighty is the Press." — Anonymous. 
 
 Music. — " Publisher's Waltz." — Strauss. 
 
 To Col. W. C. Church, editor Army and Naiy Journal, had 
 been assigned the duty of responding to this toast, but the late- 
 ness of the hour at which it would be reached prevented his so 
 doing, as he was compelled to retire at an earlier hour by other 
 duties. The President called upon Mr. Samuel W. Glenn, of 
 the New York Herald, who responded in the happiest vein in 
 a brief speech, full of humor and information. 
 
 The selections of music were made by Col. John A. Godfrey. 
 The Orchestra was under the direction of Mr. Charles 
 MoUenhauer. 
 
 In addition to the members of the Society, the following 
 guests were present at the banquet : 
 
 Charles Ue Young, Esq., of San Francisco. 
 
 Joaquin Miller, Esq., of Oregon. 
 
 Hon. S. B. H. Vance, Ex-Mayor of the City of New York. 
 Gen. H. L. Burnett, Col. William Linn Tidball, Col. James M. 
 Turner, Col. T. B. Thorpe, Messrs. George P. Payson, James 
 R. Sutton, Reuben Lord, Charles E. Tripler, R. W. Cameron, 
 J. Le Baron Willard, A. D. Lefevre, Thos. A. Lathrop, Samuel 
 W. Glenn, and AV. C. Church of New York City. 
 
 Hon. George Dayton, Hon. John Whitehead, Messrs. William 
 H. Lemassena, Andrew Lemassena, Jr., George B. Ammerman 
 and F. S. Peshine, of New Jersey. 
 
 Messrs. Aaron Griffin and John Owens, of Scranton, Pa. 
 
 Also the following gentlemen, former residents of California : 
 Messrs. Marshall T. Davidson, Andrew H. Hitchcock, J. Mil- 
 deberger Smith, James P. Robinson, J. Moody, Charles W. 
 Dingley, Capt. Stead, James B. Hill, William H. Rogers, John A- 
 Sutter, Jr., Frederick Bruraagin, Alexander H. Dixon, William 
 St. John, and Henry Fritz. 
 
 76 
 
The following letter from Senator Roach failed to reach this 
 City until after the banquet : 
 
 Senate Chamber, 
 
 State of California, 
 
 Sacuamekto, 3d January, 1876. 
 Francis D. Clark, Esq., New York. 
 
 Dear FiiiEND: 
 The invitation to the Banquet of the Associated Pioneers in New 
 York, on tlie 18th inst., came duly to hand. I regret that 1 cannot at- 
 tend a re-union, at which will be present so many of my friends, whose 
 exertions on this coast have given to the world two States, California 
 and Nevada, which have supplied tlie wants of modern civilization in 
 an extraordinary degree, by giving the precious metals to commercial 
 nations, and cheap food to their toiling millions. Among your mem- 
 bers are many who were participants in the Mexican War. I ask the 
 Federal Government, through a concurrent resolution, introduced into 
 our Senate, to treat them with kindness, and to award to them their 
 just due. Other Slates will probably pass resolutions of a similar 
 character. May you all have such a re-union as early Califoruiaus 
 can appreciate. Although absent in body I am with you in spirit. 
 "With esteem, 
 
 I remain, truly yours, 
 
 PHILIP A. ROACH. 
 
 Letter from the venerable Dr. McKinstry. 
 
 NoRTU San Diego, Gal., Jan. 31st, 1876. 
 Francis D. Clark, Esq., 
 
 Sec. " Associated Pioneers of the Territorial Days of Cal." 
 New York City. 
 Dear Sir: 
 
 Some montlis since my old friend'. Gen. John A. Sutter, sent me a 
 pamphlet of the published proceedings of your society last year, (1875.) 
 
 I notice your associates desiie to make the day of your anniversary 
 the day Of the discovery of gold by Capt. John A. Sutter. 
 
 A few days since I had occasion to overhaul my old California docu- 
 ments ; among them 1 found a copy of the " Californian." a newspaper 
 published at San Francisco, dated Sept. 23d, 1848, A. S. Sheldon, editor, 
 Bcnj. F. Foster, printer: published weekly by A. D. Hopper & Co. In 
 this number is reproduced, by request, an editorial which appeared in 
 the issue of the ICth August, 1848, and relates to the discovery of gold. 
 
 "It appears that iu the first part of February last, Messrs. Marshall 
 and Bennett were engaged with a party of Mormons erecting a saw-mill 
 for Capt. John A. Sutler, on the American fork of the Sacramento River 
 
 77 
 
about forty miles above its mouth. In excavating for tlie tail-race, 
 they removed the rock during the day, and at night Kt in the water in 
 order to wash out the dirt and sand. On the nioniing of tlie 10th* of 
 February, after shutting off the water, Mr. Marsliall discovered the 
 first gold lying upon decomposed granite in the bottom of the race." 
 
 I saved quite a number of old California documents, from 1846 to 
 1850, among them the " California Star," of 1847 and 1848, in wliich 
 paper appears an account of the discovery of gold, the first steamer on 
 the inland waters of CaHfornia, &c. The " Star " of Octol)er 23d, 1847, 
 contains the following in its news columns : " Steam, ho ! The Hussian 
 Barque 'Nasledrich' recently arrived from Sitka, lias on board a small, 
 but complete steamer, the property of W. A. Leidesdorff, Esq , of tliis 
 place. The little 'monster 'is now iu processor adjustment, having 
 been disjointed merely for packing purposes, and is destined to swim 
 the Bay in all directions, a stranger no less curious than useful. After 
 being fitted up, slie performs an excursion to test her sailing qualities." 
 
 In the same paper I find 
 
 " Marine Journal, Port of San Francisco. 
 " Arrived, 
 " Oct. 19th, Russian Bark 'Nasledrich,' Harnden, 15 days from Sitka." 
 The little steamer Sitka made but three trips, the first up the 
 bay to the Embarcadero, of San Jose, the second to Sonoma, and the 
 third and last up the Sacramento to the E.nbarcadero of New Hel- 
 vetia (Capt. Sutter's.) I was at Yerba Buena at the time, and at the 
 request of Capt. Leidesdorlf I engaged one of Captain Sutler's Lancheros 
 as a pilot, and took the steamer up the river. We were absent so long 
 that Capt. Leidesdorff thought we were wrecked, and sent a Lieutenant 
 with a boat's crew from the Nasledrich, in search of us. They found 
 the little steamer at Halla-Chemuck, near the mouth of the river, in a 
 crippled condition I returned by the Nasledrich's boat to Yerlm Buena 
 that night over a cold and extremely rough sea. Tlie steamer arrived 
 several days after, and auchored on the flat near where Sansome street 
 now is. A sou' easier came on the night that the steamer naehed her 
 anchorage, and in the morning, upon looking from my bed-room win- 
 dow, in the old adobe City Hotel, S. W. corner of Clay and Kearny 
 streets, I saw nothing but her smoke stack above water. Capt. Lei- 
 desdorff had her engine taken out, and with oxen the hull was hauled 
 up into Bush street, where it was spread, and made into a scliooner, 
 called the Rainbow, which vessel did good service transporting "grub" 
 and honest (V) miners to Sacramento and Stockton. So you will notice 
 that the Sitka was the first steamboat that floated on the waters of the 
 Bay of San Francisco, and the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers. 
 The second steamboat that ploughed the waters of the Sacramento was 
 the Pioneer, built by the company that arrived from Boston in the Ed- 
 
 * The date of the discovery of gold in California is officially recorded in the Archives 
 of the State as having occurred on the 18th of January, 18i8. —P. D. C. 
 
 78 
 
 ^U 
 

 ward Everett. She was put together at Benecia, and went up the river 
 in August, 1849, before the Mint or any otlier boat had been launched. 
 She was commanded by William V. AVcUs. "W. B: Farwcll, John M. 
 Farwell, Louis R. Lull and other members of the company of the Ed- 
 ward Everett were passengers. The Pioneer was subsequently sold to 
 Simmons, Hutchinson, & Co., and ran on the Upper Sacramento as a 
 mail boat. After the I'ioneer, came the steamboats Mint, Capt. Sutter 
 and Senator. The Senator is still running between San Francisco and 
 San Diego, a staunch, i;ood vessel, and better adapted to this trade than 
 any other steamer on the line. When you decorate the nails of your 
 banquet hall another winter, the little steamer Sitka must be accorded 
 a place above the Senator, Capt. Sutter, and Mint. And do not omit to 
 display the name of Capt. W. A. Leidesdorff, Kanaka, Davis, (William 
 H. Davis,) Capt. Grimes, and others of 1845-C. 
 
 * -» ^ # * 
 
 I crossed the Plains in 184G, in company with Gov. Boggs, Col. W. 
 H. Ru::seU, and messed with Geo. Law Curry, afterwards Governor of 
 Oregon, and A. J. Grayson and family. 1 remained at Sutter's Fort, 
 and Sutterville, live years, and for the past tvveuty-tive years have been 
 
 practising medicine in San Diego County. 
 
 # * * # * 
 
 1 would like to see your Society succeed in New York, as I have 
 some State pride left, (having been born at Hudson, N. Y.) and had New 
 York the cliznate of the Coast of California, from San Francisco to San 
 Diego, I would rather reside there than in any other part of the globe. I 
 believe it is conceded by all travelers, that the scenery of the Hudson 
 River is far superior to the Rhine, or any other stream of water. I 
 have never revisited the States since my arrival in California in 1846; 
 have made a trip to Guaymas, Mexico and back on horseback. It would 
 afford me great pleasure to make a trip this summer to the Centeuuial 
 Exhibition, at Philadelphia, and return in the full, contented to re- 
 main on this coast, my few years left. 
 
 1 have no doubt that Samuel Brannan, or E. C. Kemble could fur- 
 nish your Society with copies of the California Star. Among its cor- 
 respondents were " Agricola," (Dr. Marsh,) " Pizarro," (L. W. Hastings,) 
 " Pacific," (C. E. Pickett,) " Sacramento," (Geo. McKinstry,) " Justice," 
 (Frank Ward,) " True Justice," (Geo. McKinstry, Jr.,) " £. C. K," (E. C. 
 Kemble.) 
 
 I remember distinctly the death of Capt. V/. E. Shannon, of your (Ste- 
 venson's) regiment. I liad just recovered from an attack of cholera. 
 He died of the same epidemic at Sacramento City. Gov. John Bigler 
 and myself rode in a buggy at the head of his funeral procession — his 
 coffin wrapped in an American ensign. Capt. Shannon was a man be- 
 loved by all who knew him, and a true type of the men of the early 
 
 days of California. 
 
 Yours truly, 
 
 GEO. McKINSTRY. 
 
 79 
 
THE CENTENNIAL .EXHIBITION. 
 
 The following article fiom the Daily Examiner of San Fran- 
 cisco, is embodied in this pamphlet, for the information of the 
 members of this Society, as also all former residents of Califor- 
 nia now residing in the Atlantic States : 
 
 "THE PIONEEKS. 
 
 " What the Pioneers Propose Doing for the Crntenntal. — 
 A Committee of seven members was appointed by the Society of 
 California Pioneers at their January meeting to inquire what part llie 
 Society should take in the Centennial Exhibition. The Committee 
 consisted of Rev. Sir. Williams, A. C. Taylor, O. H. Frank, J. Currey, 
 A. C. Bradford, O. P. Sutton and M. Kane. This committee was en- 
 larged, at the February meeting of the Society, tn seventeen, by the ad- 
 dition of the gentlemen whose names follow : — VV. S. O'Hrien, H. Chirk, 
 Josiah Belden, P. Donahue, General E. P. Beale, .1 B. Frisbie, Philip 
 A. Roach, Washington and George H. Howard. The Committee 
 supported, by petition, the Bill before the Legislature to appropriate 
 $50,000 for Centennial purposes. This petition has been (avorably 
 reported on in the Legislature. The Committee propose to have erected 
 at the Exhibition a handsome building, one hundred and twenty-six feet 
 in length, by nearly fifty in breadth, to be u-ed as headquarters by Cali- 
 fornians. The facade is to be of elaborate design, and to bear the coat 
 of arms of the State ; while the paneling of the interior will be of our 
 elegant native woods. Drawings were submitted by Cummings, the 
 architect, at a meeting of the Committee yesterday morning. It is ex- 
 pected that the building will be ready on the first of May. The Society 
 will probably exhibit some of its interesting historical mementos." 
 
 The committee appointed at the last annual meeting of our 
 Society, January i8th, 1876, (see folio 10,) will assemble in this 
 city during the month of April, and the result of their delibera- 
 tions will be communicated to the ixiembers by circular. 
 
 FRANCIS D. CLARK, 
 
 Secretary. 
 
 80 
 
The following editorial from the California Star, of March 
 13th, 1847, published at San Francisco nearly one j'ear before 
 the discovery of gold at Sutter's saw-mill, viewed in the light 
 of subsequent events, is a remarkable foresight, or realization 
 of the imagination : 
 
 "The town of pan Francisco is iiowriipidiy improving, and bids fair 
 to rival, in rapidity of proj^-ress, ilie niusr, thrivinj; town or city on llie 
 American continent. If tlic necessary labor and UirabtT can be ob- 
 tained, from three to five hundreil liouses will ])robably go up in the 
 course of the present year. There is room here for artisans, mechanics, 
 and laborers of all kinds. The hiirhest wnijes are paid, and will cou- 
 tinue'to be paid ; and the highest price for lumber, brick, iivlobes, and 
 every description of building materials will be given upon their de- 
 livery liere, payable in cash. 
 
 The town of San Francisco is no doubt destined to be the Livci'pool, 
 or New York, of the Pacitic Uccan. At this point will be concentrated 
 nearly all the commercial enterprise and capital engaged and iuvesied 
 in the Pacilic trade. The position of the lown for commerce is unri- 
 valled, and never can be rivalled, unless some great convulsion of na- 
 ture shall produce a new harbor on thePaciticcoaslequaling in beauty 
 and security our maiiniticent bay. Without ditticulty or danger, ships 
 of any burthen can at all times enter the harbor, which is capacious 
 euoHgh to contain the navies of the whole world. 
 
 " The extensive and fertile countries, watered by the Sacramento and 
 San Joaquin Rivers, and the numerous navigable creeks emptying into 
 the bay, must, when tliey are settled upon with an industrious popula- 
 tion, as they soon will be, pour their produce into this place, and receive 
 in exchange from ouu merchants all their supplies of manufactures and 
 luxuries. All the products of the gold, silver, copper, iron and quick- 
 silver mines, with which the country abounds, must be concentrated 
 here tor manufacture and exportation. In a few years our wharves and 
 streets will present a scene of busy life, resembling those witnessed in 
 Liverpool, New Orleans and New York. Mechanics and artisans from 
 all parts of the world will flock here, and we shall be in the full enjoy- 
 ment of all the elegancies and luxuries of the oldest and most polished 
 countries of the globe. This is no fancy sketch; but, on the contrary, 
 all who now read may live and see it lully verified. 
 
 From the same. May 8th, 1847. 
 
 Public Meeting — Church in Son Francisco. — A meeting of the citizens 
 of this place was called on Thursday evening last, for the purpose of as- 
 certaining the prevailing sentiment in relation to the establishment of 
 a cliurch in the town of San Francisco. 
 
 We hail this as the first step towards planting the standard of our 
 glorious institutions on the shores of the Pacific, and trust an energetic 
 co-operation of our citizens will ensure success to the enterprise. 
 
 81 
 
From the same. 
 Seguiar Mail. — Onr rearlers will he pleased to learn, that Governor 
 Kearny has established a serai-monthly mail, to rnn resnlarly between 
 Ban Francisi o and San DieRO. This mail is to be carried on horse- 
 b ick, by a party consistina; of two soldiers, and is to commence on the 
 ]9ih instant. Starting every other Jfonday from San Diego and San 
 Francisco, the parties to meet at Captain Dana's rancho the next Sun- 
 day, to exchange mails ; start back on their respective routes the next 
 morning, and arrive at San Diego and San Francisco on the Sunday 
 fo'lowing, and so continuing. The mail will thns be carried once a 
 fortnight from San Diego to San Francisco, and from San Francisco to 
 San Diego. 
 
 From the same, May 22. 
 A Sabbath-school, under the direction of Mr, J. H. Merrill, superin- 
 tendent, has been organized, and will be held at the office of the Alcalde 
 every Sunday, at the hour of 9 a. m., and at 3 p. m. All children, with 
 their parents, are respectfully invited to attend. Donations will be 
 thankfully received and appropriated to the use of the school. A li- 
 brary is to be presented by tlie Rev. W. Roberts, superintendent of the 
 Oregon Mission. 
 
 J. D. Makston, Secretary. 
 
 From the same. May 39. 
 lllummntion. — The first grand illumination of the town of San Fran- 
 cisco took place yesterilay evening, in honor of General Taylor's glori- 
 ous achievement. Every dwelling, store and tavern, shone in a blaze 
 of splendor; and never, since the founding of the place, were the quali- 
 ties olnperm so fully tested, nor did the iaUow of the country ever meet 
 with such a home consumption. 
 
 The above extracts from the California Star, of May, 1847, 
 are herewith re-pubHshed as a reminiscence of the early days, 
 and may prove of interest to many now living who were in Cal- 
 ifornia at that date, as also to the present residents of the now 
 populous City of San Francisco. 
 
 82 
 
LOWER CALIFOMIA: 
 
 \h ^^0grap|g Mii €\nxuttxxsim, 
 
 SKETCH OF THE GRANT AND PURPOSES 
 
 LOWER CALIEOEIIA COMPAIY. 
 
 1868. 
 
 M. B. BROWN & CO., BOOK & JOB STEAM PRINTERS, 
 
 99 & 101 WuxiAM Street. 
 
 1868. 
 
 ^: 
 
LIST OF OFFICEKS. 
 
 RICHARD SCHBLL.. 
 
 GEN'L JOHN A. LOGAN. 
 
 WM. R. TRAVERS. 
 
 ^ixtttaxg, 
 
 C. K. Gaebison, Gen. B. F. Butleb, 
 
 August Belmont, Wm. S. C. Faego, 
 
 Hon. John A. Gkiswold, Leonabd W. Jerome, 
 
 Wm. R. Tbatebs, Datid Crawford, 
 
 Hon. Robt. McLean, Francis Morris, 
 
 George "Wilkes. 
 
LOWER CALIFORNIA 
 
 LO¥EE CALIEOEMA COMPANY. 
 
 It is the object of this pamphlet to call attention to that remarkable 
 portion of the Pacific coast which adjoins the United States upon its 
 south-western border, and which is known to the world as the peninsula 
 of Lower California. It is also its object to inform the public that the 
 bulk of that peninsula, including its harbors, fisheries, and mines, 
 has been acquired, under concession or grant from the Mexican 
 Government, by certain American citizens, who have organized them- 
 selves in New York, under the title of the Lower California Company. 
 And it is finally its object, after a brief glance at the geographical 
 position and natural capacities of the peninsula, to explain the charac- 
 ter of that grant, and the powers and purposes of the Company. In 
 doing this, care will be taken that no exaggerations shall be made, and 
 that such obvious facts alone be stated, as shall be due to the case 
 and to the standing of the Company. 
 
 The geographical importance of Lower California will at once be 
 seen by reference to the map. Springing boldly from the main land 
 at 32 ° North latitude, it juts downward into the Pacific to the distance 
 of six hundred miles, with an outer and inner line of lofty coast, 
 abounding in grand harbors, and sentinelled by numerous islands. It 
 constitutes, therefore, a natural fortress of incalculable strength, which 
 
oa its outer face domineers the vast commerce of the North-west 
 coast, while its inner shore and islands overawe the richest part of 
 Northern Mexico. This eastern shore, moreover, presides over that 
 famous arm of the sea known as the Gulf of California, at the head 
 of which comes in the mouth of that great river (Colorado) whose 
 waters, rising far north in the interior of Utah, offer hundreds 
 of miles of steam, navigation to the internal trade of the United 
 States, with a westward outlet for it to the sea. It would, therefore, he 
 hardly possible to compass, much less to over-estimate, the geographi- 
 cal importance of Lower California to the western portion of the 
 continent. In this point of view it has long been an object of great 
 interest to those who have speculated upon the future destiny of 
 North America ; and the source, as well, for the last twenty years, of 
 deep regret that it was not acquired by the United States Commission- 
 ers, at the time of the acquisition of Upper California, of which it is 
 the natural appendage. The development of the precious metals 
 along the whole line of the Pacific coast, the eager* spring in that di- 
 rection of trans-continental railways to meet the coming commerce of 
 the East, and the still more marvellous indications (through the Chinese 
 treaty, and otherwise) that the stifled populations of the Asian empires 
 are on the point of transferring their waste millions to the whole mineral 
 area of the North- West Coast, brings Lower California, as a promi- 
 nent portion of that tempting region, forward, at this time, with 
 a new and accumulating interest. In this connection, it will be 
 well to observe by a reference to the annexed map, that the favorite 
 southern route for a trans- Atlantic railway, projected to terminate at 
 Guaymas, finds a natural depression across the peninsula of Lower 
 California, which will make it the medium of the shortest and quickest 
 passenger route from New York to San Francisco. This map will 
 further show the mouth of the Colorado Eiver, aptly termed by Lieu- 
 tenant Beale, the "Mississipi of the West," and which was so highly 
 estimated by him, as an artery of commerce, that, at the close of his 
 survey of it in 1863, he declared that a war with France on the part 
 
of the United States, would not be too high a price to prevent it from 
 being seized and estranged from us in the then pending French 
 experiment on Mexico. In his subsequent report to the Secretary 
 of the Treasuiy, under date of November 5th, 1863, Lieutenant 
 Beale says of this river: "I beg of you to remember that this 
 river, (with its tributaries spread out like a fan), reaches for a 
 thousand miles into the very bowels of our continent, and terminates 
 in that long, placid sea which washes the shores of Sonora on one side, 
 and the peninsula of Lower California on the other, for more than seven 
 hundred and fifty miles. In fact, the Gulf of GaUfornia is the mouth 
 of the Colorado I" In view of the increased value which the future 
 commerce of this great river is destined to give to the lands on both 
 sides of the Gulf of California, Lieutenant Beale adds: "It is pos- 
 sible to buy up immense grants of land in both Sonora and Lower 
 California. These gi-ants are what are called floating grants, and it 
 occurred to me to buy up these grants and locate them. It is true an 
 individual would not, in making the purchase, buy with it the sover- 
 eignty, but the fact that the land was all owned by citizens of the 
 United States might predispose Mexico to part with its sovereignty 
 for a consideration of some commercial character which we could 
 make." 
 
 In connection with these observations of Lieut. Beale, it is not 
 improper to state that the Lower California Company, in addition to 
 its acquisitions in the peninsula, have made arrangements to acquire 
 large interests in Sonora, in order that they may be assimilated with 
 the general property of the Company. In speaking of Lower Cali- 
 fornia, in a letter of earlier date (Aug. 5th, 1863), also directed to 
 the Secretary of the Treasury, Lieutenant Beale says : 
 
 " I am quite sure that I have not exaggerated the great value 
 to our country of that long mountain ridge, which abounds in good 
 harbors on both the Gulf coast and the Pacific, and is filled with 
 mineral wealth of every description. I beg you will give this subject 
 a few hours' consideration — valuable and abundantly occupied as your 
 time is. I assure you this matter is worthy your attention. I desire 
 
6 
 
 most particularly to call your attention to the fact that we have it in 
 our power at this time, by purchase of Lower California and a very 
 small portion of the opposite coast, to possess the mouth of the Colorado 
 River, destined to be as important to us on the Pacific as the Missis- 
 sippi to the Eastern States. * * * Lower California, as I have 
 before written, possesses mines of incalculable extent and inestimable 
 value, while its harbors are numerous, capacious, and secure." 
 
 The Lower California grant or concession, comprehends all that 
 portion of Lower California, which is embraced within the parallels of 
 24° 20' and 31° north latitude, including both coasts of the peninsula; 
 audit comprises altogether, the vast area of 46,800 square miles. 
 Within this area, only scanty properties ever have been settled by the 
 natives ;* while the few and limited grants previously made within it 
 by the Mexican Government, have been vacated for non-fulfilment, 
 almost without exception, by a subsequent decree. 
 
 This grant was originally made to certain wealthy and influential 
 American citizens in Upper California, through Jacob P. Leese, of 
 San Francisco ; but those parties having failed to fulfil its conditions, 
 within the period prescribed to them, the Mexican Government, 
 permitted the said grant to be transferred to the Lower California 
 Company. This transfer was duly made at the Mexican Legation 
 in Washington, on the 4th May, 1866, and the grant was then 
 re-validated and extended, so thai its original term should be renewed 
 and run freshly from that date. This re-validation and extension was 
 subsequently ratified at Mexico by President Juarez in the following 
 4th August, 1866. In evidence thereof, a duly authenticated copy 
 of said grant, and memoranda of said transfer and conveyance, 
 certified by the Mexican Minister, have been filed in the office of the 
 Secretary of State, of the United States, in order that the American 
 Government may have oiScial cognizance thereof 
 
 * The present population of Lower California is eetimated at W,000, nearljr all which in 
 below the Southern line of the Company's grant. The upper boundary is likewise eep- 
 erated from the Northern border of the peninsula, inasmuch as the Mexican government did 
 not wish the grant to directly impinge upon the territory of the United States. 
 
By reference to the grant, a copy of which will be found elsewhere,* 
 it will be seen that it confers upon the colonists of the Company quasi 
 governmental powers, subject only to the general laws of Mexico. It 
 likewise confers immediate citizenship upon the Company's colonists, 
 exemption to those colonists from military services, remission of taxes 
 upon wearing apparel, provisions, mining tools, and other of their 
 imports — privileges which have never been exceeded for liberality, iu 
 any grant made by the Mexican government to foreign citizens. 
 Such was the opinion of the Hon. Caleb Gushing, whom the Company 
 legally consulted at the time of their acquisition of the grant, while the 
 validity of the grant stands further certified to, by Hon. Eobert J. 
 Walker, who had been previously consulted in the premises. To their 
 authority may be added that of the distinguished lawyers who are 
 among the original members of the Company. 
 
 Upon the basis of this vast property, with its franchises and its 
 privileges, the Company, through its Trustees, applied for and obtained 
 in the winter of 1866-7, a perpetual charter from the State of New 
 York, with an unlimited capital, which vests in the Trustees of the 
 Company the power 
 
 "Of holding, leasing, and improving lands in Lower California, and 
 of obtaining therefrom all minerals and other valuable substances, 
 whether by working or mining, or disposing of privileges to work or 
 mine, &c., * * * j^u^ to dispose of the proceeds 
 
 of all such lands, mines, and works as it may deem proper, &c." * 
 * * II rpjjg gg^jj Company shall also harve power to 
 
 establish agencies for the purpose of procuring and forwarding to 
 Lower California, emigrants and other persons, and for owning and 
 managing such ships and vessels as it may deem necessary for that 
 purpose ; and to own and carry on such transportation on inland 
 waters, as may be necessary for its purposes in Lower California ; or 
 for the purpose of encouraging regular means of communication be 
 tween any part of the United States and any part of Lower Califor- 
 nia," &c., &c. 
 
 * See Appendix. 
 
Under this Charter the Company has fixed its capital stock at Thir- 
 ty-five millions of dollars, which sum is inclusive of eight millions to 
 be issued for the purchase of the Sonora grants. Upon this basis it 
 now stands organized as follows : 
 
 President, 
 EICHAED SCHELL. 
 
 Governor and Superintendent, 
 GENL. JOHN A. LOGAN. 
 
 Treasurer, 
 WM. R. TRAVERS. 
 
 Directors, 
 
 C. K. Garrison, Gen. B. F. Butler, 
 
 August Belmont, Wm. S. G. Fargo, 
 
 Hon. John A. Griswold, Leonard "W. Jerome, 
 
 Wm. R. Tratees, David Oraweord, 
 
 Hon. Robt. Mc.Lane, Francis Morris, 
 George "Wilkes. 
 
 Besides these eminent citizens, we find among the original and 
 present members of the Company, the Hon. Caleb Cushing, S. L. M. 
 Barlow, John R. Garland, Edwards S. Sanpord, John Anderson, 
 Ben. Holladay, Francis Morris, John "W. Forney, H. C. Stim- 
 soN, A. "Welch, Charles Gallagher, George A. Osgood, John 
 Mc. B. Davison, Jacob P. Lekse, H. 0. Gray, Le\ii A. Dowlet, 
 Charles D. Boston, &c., &c. 
 
 It may not be out of place, in connection with these names, to 
 notice, that in addition to the great legal and mercantile experience 
 they represent, they likewise combine most important forms of 
 influence in the way of ocean steamships, overland expresses, tele- 
 graphy, financiering, general trade, and public station. Two of them, 
 
it also may be said, have been ministers of the United States to China 
 and to Mexico. 
 
 Lower California was made known to the civilized world in 1532. 
 It was first heard of by the Spanish conquerors of Mexico, as the 
 source of the pearls, emeralds, garnpts, and rich specimens of gold and 
 silver ores, which were among the spoils of Montezuma's capital ;* and 
 Cortes, acting upon this belief, fitted out an expedition, consisting 
 of two vessels, to explore it. The result of this enterprize was, 
 that the peninsula was reported as an island, and named from 
 the treasures of its waters, the Isla de Perlas ; while the gulf which 
 washed its inner shore, was called the Sea of Cortes. The Peninsula 
 subsequently received the name of California from the Jesuit Mission- 
 aries; and the gulf, after having been named by some navigators, the 
 Vermillion Sea, from the peculiar crimson of portions of its waters, 
 finally settled down into its present title, of the Gulf of California. 
 
 At the time of its discovery. Lower California was inhabited by a 
 race of peaceful Indians who lived an easy life on the almost spontan- 
 eous products of the earth. They were easily managed by the Jesuits, 
 who, in process of time established missions all over the peninsula, 
 and taught the inhabitants the arts of agriculture. Finding that the 
 precious metals were among them, the thrifty fathers amassed consider- 
 able wealth, and many an altar is to this day rich with the gold and 
 silver of that early period. These missions were planted in almost 
 every valley from Cape St. Lucas to the 3 2d parallel, and at the 
 opening of the present century all were in a state of marked pros- 
 perity. The principal of them was that of Loreto, which is now the 
 territorial capital of Lower California. The next was that of Co- 
 mondu, situated at the head waters of the great Bay of Magdalena on 
 the Pacific coast. San Javier was also a place of considerable note, 
 while Mul6g6, Santa Gertrudis, San Ignacio, San Borja, Santa Maria, 
 Rosario and Santa Catalina, may also be mentioned among the thriving 
 communities of the early time. These missions maintained from two 
 
 ♦ Hietorical Snimnary of Lower California, by Alexander S. Taylor. See Appendix. 
 
10 
 
 to five thousand Indians each, who with their families were employed 
 by Ihe Jesuits in cultiyating land or herding stock. They lived in 
 plenty. The climate enabled them to grow not only the most 
 valuable grains, but also sugar, figs, oranges, dates, and other tropical 
 productions ; while of cotton, they always raised sufficient to supply 
 their wants in clothes. "We search in vain among the records of these 
 people for accounts of those great drouths which are said to render the 
 country incapable of culture. We find, on the contraiy, that the 
 fathers had a system of agriculture which was entirely reliable. They 
 consulted with intelligence the characteristics of the country, and 
 those very features which the impatient and the ignorant have 
 reported as discouraging, were, turned to account and proven to be 
 providential. The missions were usually planted on the hill sides 
 so that they overlooked the valleys, and when the rains fell, contin- 
 gent water was secured by a system of enormous dams of stone, 
 which were projected from hUl to hill quite across the valleys, so 
 as to back up the water in artificial streams till the next rain fell. 
 These rude works were as creditable to the Jesuits of Lower California 
 as were the aqueducts of Egypt and of Eome to the Pharoahs and the 
 Csesars ; and their ruins are to this day a rebuke to the present dero- 
 gate condition of the territory. The truth is, that Lower California, 
 instead of being worthless or even undesirable, has simply retrogaded. 
 Nevertheless, with all of its misfortunes, it is not to-day as desolate 
 as the Roman Campagna, or as worthless as many of the once fertile 
 districts of the Nile. 
 
 The revolution which overturned the authority of Spain expelled the 
 Jesuits from Lower California, and the relaxed condition of affairs 
 which followed, destroyed all the discipline of native labor. The 
 Franciscan Friars came in after the retirement of the Jesuits, but they 
 had not the governing faculty of the Order of Jesus, and the most 
 thriving missions, consequently, soon lost their importance, and 
 dwindled into insignificance. The political vicissitudes which followed 
 account for the supervening desolation. 
 
11 
 
 The climate of the peninsula of Lower California, is described by 
 aU travelers as being unsurpassed for its delicious softness, without 
 being subject to any extremities of temperature. By the Hon. J. Ross 
 Browne, it has been proclaimed to be, indisputably, the finest climate 
 in the world. The present products of the territory, according to the 
 ofScial export list of 1857, are wine, hides, salt, cheese, sugar, dried 
 meats, figs, raisins, dates, oranges, salted fish, Brazil wood, gold, silver 
 and copper ores, gold and silver in marks and ounces, pearls and mother 
 of pearl, &c. Portions of its lands have recently been found pe- 
 culiarly adapted to the cultivation of tobacco, opium, silk and cotton. 
 The above oflBcial export list .will of itself refute the alleged sterility 
 of the country. It will be borne in mind, also, that this alledged 
 barrenness is precisely the description we once had of the fertile centre 
 of this continent under the name of the Great American Desert. The 
 hke was said of Upper California by the earlier pioneers ; and the same 
 of Chili and Peru, in which latter regions we were told discouragingly, 
 it never rained. All of these countries, however, are now well filled 
 with agricultural populations, and under the patient and encouraging 
 hand of man, they blossom like the rose. Lower California will un- 
 questionably range itself under the aflSrmative of the same problem ; 
 and there can be no doubt, that ample supplies of water can be had 
 anywhere within it, at three or four feet below the surface. The 
 letter of the Hon. Chas. D. Poston, U. S. Commissioner to China, 
 may be usefully consulted on this subject.* 
 
 It is believed, that upon proper development, the mines of Lower 
 California will not be found inferior to those of any other portions of 
 the continent, while its copper and salt deposits are known to be among 
 the richest in the world. Upon some of its islands the new and valua- 
 ble kind of iron which is found in grains, and which is known to com 
 merce as the titanic iron ore, has been discovered in abundance. 
 
 The principal of the present settlements are the Mission Commondu 
 and Mul^g6. The first of these is situated at the head waters of the 
 
 * See Letter of Mr. Foston to General Logan in the Appendix, mi ftJso of tie Eev. Dr. 
 Martin. 
 
12 
 
 northwestern arm of the Bay of Magdalena, at the foot of a rocky 
 canon opening to the west, almost forty miles from the mouth of the 
 harbor. Here there has for a long time been quite a settlement of 
 American and English sailors, who chiefly occupy themselves in 
 capturing whales, which resort there from the North Pacific at certain 
 seasons, for the purpose of dehvering their young. This trade has 
 been pursued for about thirty years, and the proceeds of each year 
 have been estimated at 200,000 gallons of oil. 
 
 The general fisheries of the peninsula are among its most 
 valueable features. This article of its commerce ranges, as we 
 have seen, from whales and seals to- the pearl oyster ; and in 
 relation to the latter, the eastern or gulf coast of the peninsula 
 has always been the great pearl fishery of past and present 
 history. The prospects of a new mode of conducting this fishery by 
 submarine steam vessels, instead of by native divers as heretofore, 
 is likely to give it very great importance, and to prove highly remune- 
 rative in the article of mother of pearl alone, which has of late years 
 become one of the most highly-prized elements of elegant ornament 
 and furniture. Projects are already formed to utilize this and the other 
 fisheries of the peninsula ; and with the salt in such profusion as it is 
 found in several of the islands, there is but little doubt the general fish- 
 eries of Lower California will compete favorably with any other 
 known fisheries in the world. The great advantage of most of those 
 productions alid opportunities is, that they lie directly in the new high' 
 road of commerce ; while the peninsula itself, affords the short cut by 
 which the Southern inter-oceanic railway can reach the Pacific coast, 
 and take up the China and the San Francisco trade. For the China 
 trade especially, the peninsula is much more favorably situated than 
 Upper California, as trade winds prevail which enable ordinary ships 
 to bear across from Shanghae to Magdalena Bay with hardly a 
 change of sails. For the purpose of a Chinese immigration this ad- 
 vantage would prove itself invaluable. 
 
 The geographical importance and characteristics of Lower California, 
 
13 
 
 being thus briefly exhibited, and the title and powers of the Company 
 succinctly shown, it becomes of interest to know in what way the Direc- 
 tors propose to turn this empire to account. They have, of course, 
 many plans for the development and utilization of a territory of such 
 various resources, but as all of its interests are to be subserved 
 by colonization, the Company . have first devoted themselves to 
 the development of that important problem. The preliminary step 
 toward this was taken by the Company, in the performance of a 
 scientific reconnoissance or survey of the mainland and coast of the 
 Peninsula im 1867. For the hulk of these duties, the Company, in 
 the Fall of 1866, employed the Hon. J. Boss Browne, then United 
 States Commissioner of Mines and Mining for the Far "Western 
 States, but since then appointed Minister Plenipotentiary of the 
 United States to China. This gentleman, along with a party of 
 experts, all under orders to make reports only to the Company, 
 entered upon their duties in the latter part of 1866, at the southern 
 boundary of the grant, and terminated them in March of the following 
 year, by passing out over its northern boundary to San Diego, in 
 Upper California. In connection with this territorial reconnoissance, 
 Mr. Browne and two other agents of the Company, served upon the 
 local Governor of Lower California a notice from the Supreme 
 Government of Mexico, of the transfer to the Company of the grant, 
 and also another paper, executed hy the Government, called a notice or 
 "order of possession." This order or notice, accompanied by a full copy 
 of the grant, was at the same time published, for the more complete 
 information of the Governor of Lower California, in the " Periodico 
 Official," or official bulletin of the Mexican Government, under date 
 of July 27th, 1866. In further connection with these movements, 
 Mr. Browne, passing out from the main land at Magdalena Bay, 
 embarked upon the U. S. Steamer Suwanee, Captain C. M. Scam- 
 mon, of the coast survey, and secured, through the voluntary exer- 
 tions of that officer, a reliable survey of the western coast of the 
 Peninsula. This survey developed the remarkable fact, that the 
 
14 
 
 longitude of the ocean coast of the peninsula had always been thrown 
 a full degree too far to the west (while the eastern longitude 
 remained unchanged), and. as this mistake showed, a large reduction 
 of the territorial surface of the grant ; the Company have appealed 
 to the equity of the Mexican Government to make them due com- 
 pensation elsewhere. 
 
 The next step toward colonizing the territories of the Company was 
 the appointment by the Directors, of General John A. Logan, as 
 Governor of colonization and General Superintendent of the affairs 
 of the Company within the boundaries of the Peninsula. This 
 appointment was made with the view of affording protection to the 
 colonists from any roving bands, insubordinate to the Mexican 
 Government ; and likewise as an assurance to settlers from the United 
 States, that their interests would always be under the immediate pa- 
 tronage of an experienced and vigilant authority. 
 
 The wisdom of these preliminary steps, but chiefly the timel}'- pro- 
 curation of the grant, have been singularly justified by subsequent 
 events. It would almost seem as if the grant and charter of the Com- 
 pany had been specially devised to meet the new impulse which had 
 just developed itself among the eastern nations, and which, under the 
 fostering patronage of the Burlingame embassy, promises to transfer 
 the waste millions of the Indian seas from one coast of the Pacific to 
 the other, in the interest of the United States. In fact, the grant and 
 charter of the Lower California Company appear to fit into the policy 
 of the Chinese missioD, and to provide most opportunely for this new 
 movement of the human race. The liberal policy of the Company, in 
 guaranteeing equal political, legal, social, and religious rights, to all 
 settlers, of whatever race, squares exactly with the wants of China, 
 and not only affords her a field where she may exhibit the intelligence 
 and capacity of her people in fair competition with the European races, 
 but furnishes her with a means, through those superior opportunities 
 and privileges, of putting an end to the execrable Coolie trade. Her 
 people who have indulged in emigration, even at the risk of being made 
 
J5 ■ , 
 
 slaves, as in Cuba and other parts of the "West Indies ; or of being 
 denied even the poor privilege of an oath in court, as in Upper Cali- 
 ornia, will henceforth prefer a land where labor is free and honorable, 
 and where equal rights make every settler's life and property secure. 
 The problem of state legislation, in regard to the social status of the 
 Chinese within certain States of the United States, may thus also be 
 equitably solved by the noblest process known to human reason, to wit : 
 by the process of example, backed by the arguments oi business com- 
 petition. In addition to the operation of these moral considerations upon 
 the mind of the Chinese government, the foreshadowed emigration has 
 material prospects of not inferior importance. The descent of the 
 Chinese upon the shores of Lower California will have the effect of 
 translating millions of her poor subjects, who now earn but a few cents 
 a day and pay no taxes, into prosperous colonists who will earn seve- 
 ral dollars a day and buy largely of home products. China will thus, by 
 one bound as it were, avail herself of the traditional policy of Eng- 
 land, by creating outside colonies or dependencies upon her trade, and 
 will thus avail herself of the benefits of a system, which required 
 hundreds of years of European civilization to develope. 
 
 The opportunity afforded to China by the Company to do these things, 
 presented, in itself, sufficient inducement to warrant her in pushing her- 
 self out among the family of nations ; and this opportunity, if improved to 
 the extent it may be, will crown the mission of Mr. Burlingame with a 
 large measure of success, even should his embassy meet with no recog- 
 nition from the European powers. In this point of view, the European 
 success of Mr. Burlingame's mission is not a matter of the first impor- 
 tance, either to China or the United States. The body of the problem 
 which he guides, lies between the opposing shores of the Pacific 
 Ocean, and it must be obvious to any shrewd observer, that the princi- 
 pal claims of his mission have already been accomplished in the treaty 
 recently negotiated with the United States. That treaty comprehends 
 and provides for social changes, which may result in a greater commer- 
 cial revolution than the world has ever seen ; and it must, therefore, 
 
16 
 
 be also obvious, that that very treaty, which thus far has elicited only 
 the scorn of the English press, will become, under the contingency of 
 any improper interference, an alliance, between China and the United 
 States, for the freedom of trade in the Pacific, and on the Chinese 
 coast. 
 
 That the Company thoroughly comprehend the whole philosophy of 
 this situation, and are preparing themselves to act in true accord with 
 it, would seem apparent from by the following correspondence, had with 
 Mr. Browne, United States Minister to China, with Mr. Romero, Minister 
 of Mexico to the United States, and Mr. Burlingame, Minister of 
 China to the world. This correspondence will of itself preclude the 
 necessity of any special detail of the purposes of the Company in 
 regard to colonization. In that point of view it should be read with 
 care. 
 
 MR. WILKES TO MR. BROWNE. 
 
 Office of the Lower California Co., 
 No. 19 William Street, 
 New York, June 8th, 1868. 
 His Excellency J. Ross Browne, 
 
 Minister of the United States to China: 
 
 Sir, — The Lower California Company, holding, aa you are aware, a grant from 
 the Mexican Government, which entitles them to take up and to colonize the 
 landa of Lower California, and operating under a Charter from the State of New 
 York for the establishment of steamer lines, &c., have recently made arrange- 
 ments for carrying out the purposes of said grant, by colonizing Chinese upon 
 the coast and in the interior of Lower California ; and also upon tracts of land in 
 Sonora, the title to which has also been acquired by the Company. 
 
 The grant or concession held by the Company is, as you will perceive by the 
 copy herewith enclosed, of a most liberal character. It covers 46,800 square 
 miles, which is nearly the whole bulk of the Peninsula. It confers quasi 
 governmental powers, similar to those enjoyed by the Hudson's Bay and East 
 India Companies ; and it guarantees to all the Company's colonists, without regard 
 to race or color, all the political and religious rights which enure to Mexican 
 citizens, as soon as such colonists shall establish themselves upon Mexican soil, 
 under the authority of the Company. 
 
 By the 9th section of the grant, you will perceive that the liberty of religious 
 worship is especially guaranteed to the colonists. By the 10th section, they 
 ape empowered to establish Municipalities, elect their own authorities, levy local 
 taxes, and perform all other acts pertaining to political organizations, upon 
 simply giving information of their intentions to the Political Chief of the Ter- 
 ritory. By the 12th section, all wearing apparel, iron tools, provisions, and 
 things necessary to preserve life, are exempted from duty for ten years. By 
 
17 
 
 the 13th section, the colonists are in like manner exempted from " all classes 
 of imports and taxes," except the "municipal contributions," which they may 
 themselves establish. And by the 14th section, they are exempted from service 
 in the national army for five years. 
 
 These franchises were all that were desired by the Company to enable them to 
 establish such colonies as would develop the fishing, agricultural and mining 
 resources of Lower California to their utmost extent. 
 
 Thus authorized, the Company have, on their part, empowered, by letters 
 patent, bearing the seal of the Company, the Hon. Charles D. Poston, Com- 
 missioner of Agriculture from the United States to China, to contract, in the 
 name of the Company, with any persons or public officers in China, and if need 
 be with tlie Government of China, for ten thousand or more of Chinese colonists, 
 to be landed upon the coast of Lower California. And he is further authorized 
 to convey to said colonists, such lands as they may require, in alternate plots or 
 sections, anywhere within the boundaries of said grant they may select, or 
 upon any of the Company's lands in Sonora ; all of said lauds to be conferred 
 upon said colonists at the same rate (with but a fraction added to cover expenses 
 of location) as paid by the Company for the same, to Mexico. 
 
 The Company furtlier guarantees, in addition to this virtual gift of the land 
 on their part, all the agricultural, mining and fishing privileges (including the 
 privilege of the pearl fisheries), and all the political and religious rights which 
 enure under their grant and charter, to the most favored of their colonists. 
 
 The Honorable Commissioner of Agriculture, aforesaid, will soon sail for 
 China, and the Company having thus empowered him, feel it to be due to your 
 Excellency's high position to lay their purposes before you in advance, in order 
 that yon may be fully apprised of their good faith, in case the transactions of the 
 Company in China shall be brought to your personal or official observation. 
 
 In this connection, the undersigned begs leave to add, that he has laid the 
 grant and charter of the Company, and liliewise the purposes of the Company in 
 regard to Chinese colonization, before the Hon. Anson Burlingame, the Minister 
 Plenipotentiary and Envoy Extraordinary of the Emperor of China to the "World, 
 and has the gratification to state, that Mr. Burlingame, recognizing the plan of 
 the Company to be broad and liberal, and as one that will not only destroy the 
 infamous coolie system, but give to the Chinese people an opportunity to compete, 
 upon equal terms with the European races, in the problem of self-government, 
 has expressed for the objects set forth by the Company, his cordial approbation. 
 
 Hoping that you, also, may see in the proposed colonization upon the Pacific 
 coast of industrious and intelligent Asiatics, an equal advantage to the United 
 States, through the creation of new and contiguous markets for American 
 products. 
 
 I have the honor to remain, very respectfully, your Excellency's most obedient 
 servant, GEORGE WILKES, 
 
 Director, &c.. Lower California Company. 
 
 REPLY OF MR. BROWNE. 
 
 New Toek, June 8, 1868. 
 
 George "Wilkes, Esq., 
 
 Director Lower California Co., &c. : 
 
 Dear Sir, — In reply to your communication of yesterday, on the subject 
 of colonizing Chinese emigrants upon the property of your Company, I have 
 great pleasure in stating — 
 
18 
 
 That, although the property you have obtained by grant from the Mexican 
 Government is not attractive to American or 'European emigrants, on account 
 of its inferiority, as an agricultural country, to Upper California and the adjacent 
 territories, as well as because there is a great amount of unoccupied land open to 
 settlement in our "Western and Southern country, — it is, in my opinion, admirably 
 adapted to the colonization of Asiatics, both from the convenience of its locality, 
 which gives the best facility for landing emigrants from China, and for the readi- 
 ness with which they can become self-sustaining by the product of the fisheries ; 
 and for the mining and shipment of copper and other ores, which will find a 
 ready market in San Francisco. The safe anchorage at Magdalena Bay, and 
 the praoticabihty of obtaining fresh water by digging wells in the surrounding 
 , lands and adjacent islands, would indicate that, as the proper place for commencing 
 a settlement. 
 
 The climate is so mild that not the least apprehension may be had about the 
 health of newly-arrived emigrants. In the vicinity are small portions of land 
 which may, by irrigation from wells, be made to produce vegetables, grain, fruits, 
 grapes, sugar-cane, cotton, and almost any other production of the temperate 
 zone. The fisheries around the bays, harbors, lagoons, and coasts of this Pen- 
 insula wUl afford an exhaustless source of subsistence to the patient and skillful 
 Chinese. Whales seek these mild waters for calving, and the pearl oysters 
 abound near the shores. 
 
 The Chinese will make industrious, frugal and thrifty colonists, and being 
 accustomed to a scale of wages at home not exceeding ten cents per day, wiU 
 eagerly seek a country which offers a better reward for their labor. 
 
 In China, hundreds of thousands never set foot on land, and own none to 
 cultivate. It may, therefore, be reasonably considered that the opportunity of 
 acquiring lands, mines, and fisheries, so liberally offered by your Company, will 
 speedily induce as large an infiux of colonists as it would be prudent to 
 encourage. 
 
 The right of citizenship, freedom from taxes and duties, exemption from 
 military service, and opportunity to transplant an ancient civilization to the only 
 unoccupied part of the Pacific coast, are advantages which will not be overlooked 
 by these intelligent and sagacious people. 
 
 With an earnest desire to aid, in any proper manner, your laudable design to 
 colonize this otherwise valueless territory, 
 
 I am, very respectfully. 
 
 Tour obedient servant, 
 
 J. ROSS BROWNE. 
 
 MR. WILKES TO MR. ROMERO. 
 
 WASHiNaiON", 18th June, 1868. 
 Hon. M. Romeeo, 
 
 Minister, &c., iScc, &c.: 
 
 SiK, — I am requested by the Board of Directors of the Lower California 
 Company to lay before Your Excellency, for the information of your Govern- 
 ment, the enclosed correspondence with His Excellency J. Ross Browne, 
 Minister from the United States to China, in relation to the manner in which 
 the Company propose to colonize the peninsula of Lower California and to 
 develop the natural resources of the same, as is required by the Mexican govern- 
 ment under its grant or contract with Jacob P. Leese, bearing date March 30th, 
 1864 
 
 Tour ExoeUeney will perceive by this correspondence, that it is the intention 
 of the Company to inaugurate their system of implanting colonists upon the 
 uninhabited lands of Lower Cahfornia with an importation of Chinese laborers 
 
19 
 
 and will also perceive that it is their further intention to loyally observe, in all 
 their contracts and dealings with said colonists, the liberal and beneficent 
 spirit of the Mexican constitution, as reflected through the 9th, 10th, 12th, 
 13th,, and 14th sections of said grant, in said correspondence referred to. 
 These generous provisions, so different from the hard terras upon which Spain 
 receives this same class of colonists in Cuba, cannot but present to the world a 
 noble contrast in favor of the enlightened policy of Mexico. Hoping that 
 this proposed influx upon the idle lands of Lower California of intelligent, frugal, 
 industrious, and law-abiding people under such regulations as the Company have 
 prescribed, and in faithful subordination to the laws of Mexico, may meet with 
 the approbation of Tqur Excellency and Tour Excellency's Government, I have 
 the honor to be, 
 
 Tery respectfully, your ob't serv't, 
 
 GEO. "WILKES, Director, &c. 
 
 The above letter was sent to Mr. Eomero, at Washington, at a time 
 when he was absent from his Legation, and it did not consequently 
 receive an immediate reply. Upon being subsequently spoken to upon 
 the subject matter, by the writer of it, Mr. Eomero expressed his cor- 
 dial approbation of the colonizing programme of the Company, and 
 stated his readiness to give an approval of the same in writing. It 
 so happened, however, that the great amount of business which pressed 
 upon Mr. Eomero during his brief stay in the United States, in June, 
 and July last, diverted his attention from this promise until the very 
 morning of his departure from New York (July 18th), for Vera Cruz. 
 It was at a late hour on that morning, and just as Mr. Eomero was 
 about leaving his hotel for the steamer, that he hastily made the fol- 
 lowing answer. It is inserted here merely to show that the proposed 
 Asiatic emigration will undoubtedly be favored and promoted by the 
 Mexican Governments as well as by the United States and Chmese 
 Governments. 
 
 EEPLY OF ME. EOMEEO. 
 
 New Toek, July 16th, 1868- 
 Geoege Wilkes, Esq., 
 
 New York City : 
 Mt Dear Sir: — As you have expressed a desire that I will give you my 
 views on the Chinese Colonization in Mexico, and more particularly in Lower 
 California, I have no hesitancy in saying that I think favorably of it, since Mex- 
 ico needs colonization as much as anything else, and I believe it difficult to have 
 emigrants from a homogeneous race. 
 I am, sir, in great haste, very truly and respectfully. 
 
 Tour obedient servant, 
 
 M. ROMERO. 
 
20 
 MR. CALEB GUSHING TO MR. BURLINGAMB. 
 
 Washington, July 20, 1868. 
 
 Sir : — 1 address you, at the request, and in behalf, of the Lower California 
 Company. 
 
 Oral information has already, communicated to you, touching the rights, been 
 the purposes, and the plans of this Company; and the object of the present 
 communication is to submit the same formally and in writing for your appro- 
 bation. 
 
 The Company hold a colonization concession from the Mexican Government 
 of a large part of the Mexican territory of Lower California. 
 
 They conceive that their concession affords a most auspicious opportunity for 
 free emigration and settlement on the part of the Chinese, in a country of 
 healthful climate and of great mineral and other resources, where they may 
 form themselves into self-governing municipal corporations, acquire land, and 
 engage in productive industrial enterprises, under the safeguard and protection 
 of the laws of the Mexican Republic. 
 
 The Company are assured that this plan will have the approval of the 
 Mexican Government, in proof of which the acoompanyiug correspondence is 
 laid before^ you. 
 
 In the expectation that the plan wUl prove acceptable also to the Chinese 
 Government, measures have been taken by the Company to promote and 
 facilitate the transit of settlers from China to Lower California. 
 
 Tour Excellency's approval of the plan is now solicited, in the confidence that 
 it is in perfect consonance with other objects of your high and important mission, 
 and that it offers signal advantages to all persons in China, who may desire to 
 emigrate to America. 
 
 I have the honor to be, very respectfully, 
 
 C. GUSHING. 
 His Excellency Anson Bhelingame. 
 
 MR. BURLING-AME TO MR. GUSHING. 
 
 Boston, August 25th, 1868. 
 
 Sir: — I have received your letter of the 20th ult., addressed in behalf of the 
 Lower California Company. 
 
 Ton perceive that the treaty, recently concluded between the Chinese Govern- 
 ment and that of the United States, while recognizing the voluntary emigration 
 of Chinese to other countries, contemplates their personal security in the United 
 States, in return for the security of Americans in China. I cannot allow myself 
 to doubt that the principles of reciprocal confidence and respect, and of interna- 
 tional justice and faith, which the provisions of the treaty consecrate as between 
 China and the United States, will be accepted by other Powers, in my negotia- 
 tions With them, and thus become the public law of Europe and America. And 
 the letter of the distingaished Mexican Minister, Mr. Romero, shows that the 
 same principles are spontaneously admitted as the basis of the foreign, policy of 
 the liberal and enlightened President of the Mexican Republic. 
 
 I hesitate not, therefore, to express my personal approbation of the plan of 
 the Lower California Company for promoting and facilitating the settlement of 
 Chinese emigrants in Lower California ; and I venture to assume, in view of 
 
21 
 
 the peculiar advantages uf municipal self-government and unchallenged equality 
 of right which such emigrants will enjoy there, that the plan will prove agree- 
 able to the Imperial Government. 
 
 ANSON BXJRLINGAME. 
 The Hon. Caleb Gushing. 
 
 The foregoing coiTespondence, indicates that the destiny- of the 
 Lower California portion of that coast is clearly and forcibly 
 foreseen. A glance at the map will show that the whole penin- 
 sula of Lower California is being rapidly surrounded, on every 
 side, by the symptoms of a mighty progress, and that its mere geogra- 
 phical position alone will not long exempt it from performing a distin- 
 guished part in the westward future of this continent. This being the 
 case, and without considering the questions of its agricultural capacity, 
 its wondrous climate, its facilities for Asiatic settlement, or for the culti- 
 vation of opium, silk, and other Oriental products, it is only necessary, 
 at present, for all reasonably practical purposes, to inquire whether the 
 interests of the peninsula are entrusted to hands in the Lower 
 California Company, which can utilize every feature of its value, 
 and whether the title and the programme of that Company are 
 sufficiently liberal and comprehensive to warrant public confi- 
 dence. It is but necessary, in reply to this, to refer again to the 
 Mexican grant and American charter, and likewise to the endorse- 
 ment which the programme of the Company has met with from 
 the highest diplomatic functionaries of Mexico, China, and the United 
 States. This endorsement has been given on the part of Mexico, by 
 the Hon. M. Eomero, formerly Minister to the United States, but now 
 Mexican Secretary of the Treasury; on the part of the United States, 
 by Hon. J. Eoss Browne, Minister of the United States to China ; 
 and on the part of China by Hon. Anson Burlingame, Minister Pleni- 
 potentiary and Extraordinary from the Celestial Empire to the world. 
 When, to this endorsement, it is added that the Company comprises in, 
 its list of members and directors some of the most distinguished lawyers 
 and publicists of America, it may be said the last evidence has been 
 given, not only of the title of the Company, but of the substantial 
 
22 
 
 prospects of their prioject. "With the good will, therefore, not to say 
 the active co-operation of the diplomatic functionaries above named, in 
 promoting the population of and the development of new markets upon 
 the Western coast of the Pacific, and with the direct aid of the United 
 States Commissioner of Agriculture to China, as the Company's 
 Asiatic Agent of Colonization, no preliminary effort or guarantee 
 seems to have been overlooked to insure the Company's success. 
 
APPEITDIX. 
 
 CHINESE SETTLEMENT IN LOWER CALIFORNIA. 
 
 BY EET. DR. MARTIN. 
 
 The Rev. Dr. Wm. M. Martin — well known as a missionary in China, 
 and as a popular lecturer in California and the Atlantic States upon 
 the subject of the immediate future of the American and Asiatic 
 coasts of the Pacific — a man of profound thought and great experi- 
 ence — writes as follows : 
 
 NOTEMBEB 20, 1868. 
 
 Seoketary Lower California Co., 
 
 Dear Sir, — Tour favor is at hand, requesting me "to peruse the enclosed pam- 
 phlet on Lower California, and to communicate to you my opinion on the 
 resources of that territory, and the plans of the Lower California Company of 
 colonizing with Asiatics. Also, especially to giye my views upon the best steps 
 for the Company to take in Christianising such colonists ; the building at once of 
 churches. Sabbath-schools, and the editing of a local religious and literary 
 journal." 
 
 Save for grape culture, which in the Foot Hills where it is most successful, 
 and requires no water, the agricultural resources of the Peninsula depend 
 evidently upon irrigation. Even the alkali soils of Nevada, covered only with 
 sage brush, will yield under irrigation one hundred bushels of barley to the acre. 
 This is a tested fact. "With artesian wells, and such use as can be made of 
 mountain streams, under the influence of growth in the atmosphere of that 
 coast, no doubt a cultivation like that which the Mormons have secured, in 
 somewhat similar circumstances in Utah, could be attained. 
 
 The resources of Lower California, however, are to be found chiefly in its 
 mountains and waters. The compensation of the Pacific is, that, where there are 
 not rich aUuvious, there are rich deposits of mineral wealth. 
 
 The Rooky Mountain system, from Cape Horn to the Arctic, is true to this 
 law of compensation. Where there are no rivers, and where the basins of large 
 streams like the Upper Columbia and Upper Colorado and Missouri have never 
 been hemmed in long enough by mountain barriers to secure deep alluvial 
 deposits, there uniformally are unbounded mineral resources. The very up- 
 heaval of these high basins and mountain elevations, necessary to the metamor- 
 phism of the rooks in their mineral formations, necessarily involves destitution 
 of aUuvious; whilst, with irrigation, undoubted agricultural products would 
 result ; a large and weU-managed capital, employed in developing the mineral 
 
24 
 
 resources 'of the peninsula, with sufSoient irrigation for agricultural and horti- 
 cultural supplies, would be the most fertile of results. 
 
 Mining on the Pacific has been suffering from adventitious causes — costly 
 labor, costly transportation, small and ibadly-managed capital and stock-jobbing. 
 Legitimate mining, such as is done in Europe, hardly exists ou the Pacific. And 
 yet the Rocky Mountaiu system — comprising the Andes, Cordilleras, Rocky 
 proper. Sierra Nevada, and Coast ranges — are the embowelment of the richest 
 treasures of the globe. That Lower California would pay well-directed capital 
 at one-quarter the present cost of labor, at which Asiatics could be employed is 
 not even problematical. 
 
 The Chinarilan is the ox of the Pacific — patient, enduring, tractable, and reliable 
 as no other laborer — quick to discern, never failing to obey the directions given 
 or the manner of performance. These people can all read, are accessible to 
 Christian effort, and, like all the races of the Pacific, most ready to embrace 
 the Christian religion. The idol temples in China are now closed, and, by an 
 edict of the Emperor, /oreijer. Pour thousand regenerated souls are the results 
 of a few short years of Christian effort. The results of Christian civilization and 
 Yankee progress are now attracting the Asiatics generally, and Chinese in partic- 
 ular, through their representative thousands in our country, as the Irish and 
 other peoples of Europe are attracted by their representatives in this country. 
 Millions of Chinese laborers are now upon our soil, and the mission work of 
 American Churches will soon, by necessity, be transferred to our own soil. 
 
 No doubt the Company can offer inducements to Evangelical bodies to under- 
 take the Christianizing of their colonists. "Well directed appliances have already 
 by actual experiment been tested in China and California. My judgment is that, 
 either or all the denominations which have prepared for this work among that 
 people would, with such encouragement as the interests of the Company would 
 warrant, be willing to enter upon all the labor of evangelization. 
 Tours, very truly, 
 
 WM. M. MARTIN. 
 
 HISTORICAL SUMMARY OF LOWER CALIFORNIA. 
 
 Bt alexandee s. tatloe. 
 
 Author of the " Bibliografia Californica entre 1554^1867," " The ladianology of California," 
 etc. ; Hon. Mem. of the California Academy of Sciences, and of the Mercantile Library 
 of San Francisco. 
 
 There is no such thing in existence as a present and past history of the Cali- 
 fornia Peninsula, which may be said to have been the mother of the State of 
 California. The missionary histories prior to ITOO are well as far as they go, but 
 are full of omissions, mistakes, grave errors of fact, and innumerable errors of type, 
 aU of which have been copied in every publication issued down to the present day, 
 and making " confusion worse confounded." This little work is not designed as 
 a serious history, the printed materials for which would take years to digest and 
 arrange, and the consulting of immense numbers of manuscripts in California, 
 Mexico, and Spain, kept secret, from government motives, which alone would oc- 
 cupy a lifetime. The sketch is intended as an historical precis, or procession of 
 events, from the past to the present times, which has never been made before — 
 a skeleton guide collated, compared, and deraigned from the most authentic and 
 reliable sources, and the chapters and materials are compiled and arranged in a 
 manner, we hope, convenient and simple, the plan of which hats never been at- 
 tempted before in any work relating to the Pacific Coast. It will thus, we flatter 
 ourseives, be found useful to the immigrant, the merchant.the seaman, and nav- 
 igator, the naturalist, the journaUst, the traveler, the statesman, the historian, 
 
25 
 
 the miuei', the manufacturer, and the speculator, and, we may add, it is made 
 from the study of long years of California life. 
 
 Having been pressed, as it were, into a remote corner of the world for over 
 three centuries, the progress of events induced by the discovery of gold in 1848 
 has brought thousands of ships and millions of men m sight of the peainsular 
 shores for the last twenty years ; yet that immense country is still empty — a 
 mere frame without a picture. But the rapid completion of railroad commuaica- 
 tions across the continent, with hourly telegrams, the steamer lines now securely 
 connecting between Cape Horn and the Oregon, the opening in 1867 of the 
 steamer routes to Australia and China, and the institution of legalized railroad 
 corporations to connect the Gulf of California with the Bay of San Francisco 
 and the Gulf of Mexico, will very soon draw, voluntary or not, the California pe- 
 ninsula within the periphery of events, big with the fate of the future States, 
 commonwealths, nations, and empires of the great ocean which the Divine Father 
 of All seems ordaining for the immediate future. 
 
 FIRST MENTION AND NAME OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
 After the subjugation of the empire at Montezuma by Ferdinand Cortez, in 
 1522, pearls, emeralds, turquoises, garnets, and particular specimens of gold, silver, 
 and copper, fell to the lot of the conquerors, among much other epoils of trea- 
 sure. The courtiers of the Aztec emperor informed the Spaniards that these trea- 
 sures came from the countries and coasts of the ocean, a great way to the west 
 and northwest of the capital. The King of Michoacan and the caciques of his prov- 
 ince of Colinia called this country of treasures Oiguatan, a nnme adopted by the 
 conquerors until they first discovered the shores of the gulf below 27'', when it 
 often went by the name of So,ntiago, from a place on the coast of Tehuantepeo, 
 where Cortez dispatched his first expedition of 1532. It was, after 1532, called 
 Santa Oruz, from the bay where anchored Ximeuez, the first European who was 
 certainly known to have landed on the peninsula. At this time it also obtained 
 the name of Mas de Period, from the accounts and specimens brought to Cortez 
 by the companions of Ximeuez. It was then often called the Islas Amazons, 
 from a fable current in Mexico of a nation of female warriors in these parts, and 
 also bay, or gulf, or country " de Bellenas," or whales. A-fterthe visit of Cortez 
 in 1535, it first acquired the name of California, or the Islas de California. 
 After the death of Cortez it often went by the name of Islas GaroUnas, from the 
 Emperor Charles V., or from Charles the Second of Spain, under which term it 
 is set down in many old maps and charts, and as late as that of Anson in 1740. 
 After the Jesuit settlement of 1690, the name of California became more and 
 more confirmed, until, on the publication of the Jesuit Histories after 1750, it 
 became permanently recognized in history, navigation, and geography under that 
 title. After the settlements of San Diego and Monterey of 1770, the lower 
 portions began to be styled California Peninsular, Oalifornia Antigua, or Vieja, 
 &niBaja California, and the country beyond the Gila junction of the Colorado 
 and its parallel to the ocean, as Nueva Oalifornia, California Norte, and the Alta 
 California. It was not till the American conquest of 1846 that the name of the 
 peninsula was confirmed in commerce as Lower California, and the northern 
 countries as Tipper California, by which terms they are now more fully known 
 in politics and letters than the Spanish titles, leaving out the political divisions of 
 this last, forming subsequent to 1846 what is now known as the Pacific domain 
 of the United States of America. 
 
 THE GULF OF OALIFORNIA — ITS TITLES. 
 
 This great arm of the Pacific, which penetrates the American continent deeper 
 than any other in tlje New World, runs from near 23° to that ^of 31° 30', or a 
 length of say 600 geographical miles, to where it receives the waters of the Co- 
 orado of the West. It acquired its name of the Gulfo de Cortez, or Ma/r de Cortez, 
 
26 
 
 from the great captain, who visited it in 1537. Its other names of Mwr Ve/rmig- 
 lion, Mar Eojo, and Mar Vermijo, seem to have been first applied in ISST-lSiO, 
 after the explorations oftJUoa and Alarcon, from the reddish color of its waters, 
 and the accounts given of its shores by Nuno de Guzman and his officers, the 
 first conquerors of Sinaloa. * * * xhe Gulf of California bathes the entire 
 lengths of the eastern shores of Lower California and of the western boundaries 
 of the States of Sinaloa and Sonora, until these lines are absorbed by the waters 
 of the Colorado ; that is, its shore line is 1,200 miles in length. In its northern 
 parts it is full of sand-bars, shoals, hidden rooks, shallow soundings, and danger- 
 ous currents, while its southern portions contain the finest harbors, bays, and 
 anchorages, with the safest navigation for the major portion of the year. Its 
 breadth ranges all the way from twenty miles at its head to 250 miles at its en- 
 trance been Cape San Lucas and the port of Mazatlan. 
 
 ITS OCEAN LINES, COASTS, AND NORTHERN LIMITS. 
 
 From Cape San Lucas, in a little below 23°, the ocean coast carries a general 
 northwest direction for the distance of, say, 700 geographical miles to a parallel 
 line one marine league from the southernmost point of the Bay of San Diego, 
 near a place called Tia Juana, according to the Mexican treaty of 1848. To 
 identify this line beyond dispute, a marble monument was erected by the bound- 
 ary commissioners of the United States and Mexico in 1850, opposite the Co- 
 ronada Islets, and which monument is situated in a fraction over 32° 31' of lat- 
 itude, and 117? 06' longitude of Greenwich. The ocean shores run at least 
 100 miles farther north than those of the extreme head of the gulf. This section 
 of the peninsula, for 50 nautical leagues on the sea-coast below the boundary, 
 is one of the finest districts for health, climate, and fertility, the climate partic- 
 ularly being one of the most uniform and delightful m the world. 
 
 THE ISLANDS OF THE OCEAN AND GDLP COASTS. 
 
 The first island on the Pacific, after passing Cape San Lucas, is that of Santa 
 Margarita, which is 22 miles in length and 5 to 10 miles in breadth, according 
 to De Pleury's map of 1864. According to Payot's map, 1863, there are several 
 unnamed islands in the bay of Magdalena, of which Margarita forms its southern 
 defence, not at all inserted in De Pleury's map of 1864, nor is there any des- 
 cription of these either in Belcher or Findley. In fact, this part of the coast 
 has never been accurately located — a crying evil, as one steamer and several 
 vessels have been lost or greatly damaged in these parts since 1850. The small 
 island of Cresciente is. within sight of Margarita to the northeast, and only two 
 or three miles from the mainland. 
 
 About 280 miles above Margarita is the island of Natividad, some four miles 
 long and two broad. This, with the island of Cedros, form the southwest 
 defences of the bay of Sebastian Tiscaino, so called from that navigator's an- 
 chorage here in 1 602. Cedros is some 25 miles long by five in breadth ; to the 
 west of it are the small islets of San Benito. Going up the coast, no other 
 important islands are met with till that of San Geronimo is reached, 140 miles 
 from Cedros, and situated opposite the Mission of La Rosario, and which is 
 only four or five miles in length. The last island met with after Geronimo is 
 Cenisas, near the bay of San Quentin, which is only two or three miles in 
 length. 
 
 The island of Guadelupe, nearly due west from Cedros, and 120 miles from 
 the coast in lat. 28° 45', is also included in the territory of Lower California. 
 The position of this island was definitely fixed by Admiral Du Petit Thenars in 
 November, 1837, though it was approximately located on several old Spanish 
 and other charts even prior to 1820 ; it is only a mass of rooks some twenty 
 miles in circumference, and has often been visited since 1850 by California otter- 
 hunters and whalers. 
 
27 
 
 Going from Cape San Lucas up the Gulf, about 100 miles north, the first is- 
 land of the gulf is that of Ceralbo (or "White Hills), some 1 2 miles in length, and 
 stated to contain copper mines of great value. The second is Espiritu Santo, 
 about six miles long, containing also very rich copper-mines. This last island 
 blocks the mouth of the bay of La Paz, which runs southeast for some 20 miles, 
 in the western corners of which is the minor bay called Pichilingue, containing 
 the small island of San Juan Nepoceno. The third island is the small one of 
 San Francisco, in sight of which is the fourth, known as San Jose, and some 
 twelve miles lousr. The fifth island is called Santa Catalina, and within five or 
 ,six miles of it is the sixth, called ^Montserrat : these two are about ten miles in 
 circumference each. The. seventh island is the celebrated one of Carmen, which 
 contains beyond all dispute the richest, most peculiar, and most accessible salt- 
 mine in the whole world, and entirely inexhaustible. The Jesuits, about 1730, 
 asked from the viceroy a grant of th's mine in perpetuity, from which they 
 would maintain their California establishments free of cost to the king's treas- 
 ury. Carmen Island is about 25 miles long by six broad, and is within a few 
 hours' sail of the old town of Loretto. Five or six miles beyond it is the eighth 
 island, called Coronados, of a few miles' extent. Farther up from Carmen some 
 30 miles is the ninth island, San Ildefouso, and within two or three hours' sail, 
 that of Santa Isabel, the tenth, at the mouth of Moleje Bay : both of these, with 
 three or four others in the bay aforesaid, are only a few miles in extent. The 
 three islands called Galapagos, 30 miles above Moleje, are the eleventh, and are 
 also only of a few miles' extent ; the Gallapagos are some 25 miles in front and 
 to the west of Tortugas island, which is in midchannel and within sight of the 
 port of Guayraas on the Sonora coast : tins island may be set down for the 
 Sonera coast, and, it is said, has an extinct volcano on it. The thirteenth island 
 is Trinidad, and the fourteenth San Bernabe, both some twenty miles in circum- 
 ference and about forty miles above the Gallapagos. Tlie fifteenth are the Sal 
 Si Puedes, three small islands, within sight of two others, known as Las Ani- 
 mas and Baza, which together form an archipelago very dangerous for their 
 impetuous currents. To the west of Las Animas there are a number of small 
 islands close to the mainland, which are not well known by name in geography. 
 Between mainland and these, to the eastward, is the Canal de Ballenas, or 
 Whales, which divides off the sixteenth, or great island of Angel de la Guarda, 
 50 miles in length and about 15 in breadth. Northward of Angel, some fifty 
 miles in the bay of San Felipe de Jesus, is the rocky islet or farallon of Santa 
 Felicia. Twenty miles farther northeast is the seventeenth island, called San 
 Eugenie, about seven miles around, and sometimes called Farallon de San Eu- 
 geuio, from a rocky islet close by, off the southern coast of which are some 
 extremely dangerous sunken rocks and ledges. Immediately north of San 
 Eugenie, at the narrowest part of the gulf, are the eighteenth islands, known as 
 Las Eeyes, which block the entrance of the Colorado and gulf. Above these 
 last are a number of large flat islands, formed by the bores of the river and gulf, 
 which are enclosed within the banks of the river, and a regular network of simi- 
 lar formations is nearly to the junction of the Gila, and which all belong to 
 Mexican territory. 
 
 Coming down the gulf from the river on the west shore of Sonora, or the eastern 
 watersof the gulf, is tirst the small island of Patos, which is some 130 miles south- 
 east of San Eugenie. A narrow strait divides this from the large island of Tiburon, 
 some twenty miles long and ten broad, and which can be seen from above the 
 city of Hermosillo in clear weather. Below Tiburon, some 25 miles, in San 
 Pedro Martyr Island, and 30 miles farther south, is that of San Marco, a few 
 miles nortli of Guaymas. the bay of which port has several small^slets. To the 
 south of Guaymas, 50 miles, is the small island of Lobus. At the mouth of the 
 Kiver Smaloa are five or six small islands, among the principal of which is San 
 Ignacio and Macapula. Below the mouth of the River Culiacan are several 
 long, low islands along the coast, which are, however, very little known in nav- 
 
28 
 
 igation or commerce. To the south of these last, to the port of Mazatlan, the 
 coast is generally clean, with open aspects; seaward at the mouth of the gulf, 
 where the ocean swells, in the hurricane months, beat with immense surfs and 
 rollers of overwhelming force. After the stormy season has passed, the navigation 
 of the gulf is one of the safest and most dehghtful in any sea, for more than 
 eight months of the year. But the above-named islands of the eastern waters 
 belong in no way to Lower Calirornia, but pertain entirely to Sinaloa and 
 Sonora. 
 
 All this immense stretch and hnes of 1,200 miles of gulf coast and 100 miles 
 of ocean shores, with their islands, are entirely unfixed hydrographically, either 
 in books, charts, or maps, except a few points by Spanish navigators, between 
 1110 and 1800, by the English and French, between 1824 and 1850, and by 
 Americans, between 1846 and 1866, the most accurate of which arc those of 
 Admiral Belcher in 1839, confined, however, only to four or five localities on the 
 ocean coast. With the wealth of minerals, fisheries, agriculture, and commerce, 
 which is opening on these wonderful territories, and the immense amount of 
 shipping which sails daily within sight of its sea lines, the scientific survey of 
 them by competent persons is loudly called for by the principal maritime powers 
 of the world : probably it could be better done by a joint co.nmission of hydro- 
 graphists of the great naval powers. There'is not an islaud in all those we 
 have mentioned, in the gulf or in the Pacific, except Santa Margarita, Cedros, 
 and Gruadelupe, whose true positions or superficial dimensions are known in 
 navigation, geography, or history, and only a few of them are inhabited, and 
 then only by a few fishermen. If all these islands, which contain immense 
 resources in excellent harbors, in minerals, in fisheries, and in pearl-oyster banks, 
 were joined together, they would make a district of country 100 miles long by 80 
 miles broad, and at a rough estimate they would make one-fifteenth of the 
 superficies of the peninsula. 
 
 THE HAEEOKS, BATS, AND POKTS OP THE PENINSULA. 
 
 Coming from San Diego to the south on the Pacific, the best known harbors 
 are: 
 
 Mrst. The Bay of Todos Santos, near which is the well-known locality, called 
 the Sausal de Comacho, where salt has been procured in abundance since 1855. 
 It makes a fine harbor for vessels under 400 tons, and is now often resorted to 
 by whalers and others. A grant of great extent covers the lands of this bay 
 claimed by Jose Y. Limantour. 
 
 Second. To the southward, about 100 miles, is the fine bay and port of San 
 Quintin, sometimes called in maps and charts San Francisco, and also Bay of the 
 Eleven Thousand Tirgins of Cologne ; San Quintin is the term now generally 
 known in navigation. The apex of the bay at the north has valuable Salinas or 
 salt-beds, which have been worked since 18&3, and the salt from its superior 
 quality is well known in the San Francisco markets. A large grant of laud is 
 also laid down here as belonging to Limantour. 
 
 Third. To the southward, some 130 miles, is the great bay of Sebastian Vis- 
 caino, made by Cedros and Natividad Islands; its western aspects are • ntirely 
 open to the west for one-half of its length. It has a small arm at its northern 
 apex, called Pescado Blanca, where is a valuable salt-bed, in the vicinity of which 
 is the grant of Mr. Millatowitch, a well-known Russian citizen of California. 
 Several extensive lagoons malie into the land, according to Payot's map, which 
 are laid down in no other map. A third grant, some 60 miles long and 20 broad, 
 covering all the neighboring lands of the bay, is also here claimed by Limantour. 
 Taluable salinas are found all along the shores of this bay, which was discovered 
 by Tiscaino in 1602, though on many maps it is put down as the Bay of San 
 Francisco and also Saint Sebastian ; on others, the Bay of Magdalena is located 
 here. 
 
29 
 
 Fowrth. Some ten miles below Natividad Island is the small bay of San Bar- 
 tholomew, often called Turtle Bay, which contains valuable fisheries of turtle, 
 used for the supply of the San Francisco market. 
 
 Fifth. One hundred miles below San Bart's, after doubling Point Abreojos, is 
 Ballenas Bay, which in 2T° runs into the laud for twenty miles, and is the 
 resort of innumerable whales in the calving season, and from which hundreds 
 of tons of oil have been shipped to San Francisco and the East sioce 1853. 
 
 Sixth. One hundred and fifty miles below Ballenas opens up theG-reat Gulf or 
 Bay of La Magdalena, discovered by Cabrillo io 1542, rediscovered by Tiscaino 
 in 1602, and found from the descriptions of this last by the Jesuit Father Guillen 
 in 1719. It is often mentioned by Spanish navigators, and is one of the most 
 extensive on the west coast of America, but was not known properly in naviga- 
 tion till Admiral Belcher's visit of 1839. The bay forms into a great many rami- 
 fications and arms, and is about fifty miles in extreme length, with several low, 
 sandy islands, as well as rocky ones ; its breadth ranges all the way from five 
 to twenty miles. For the last fifty years it has been the resort of American 
 whalers, sealers, and other hunters, and since 1854 regular establishments of this 
 class from California have aggregated on its shores until quite a settlement is 
 now formed. It is also much resorted to by Chinamen from San Francisco for 
 gathering the mollusk called anion, the meat of which is so much esteemed by 
 the wealthy people of China. 
 
 Seventh. Some fifty miles below Magdalena the small bay of Todos Santos Mis- 
 sion is reached, near which are some of the most fertile spots of the peninsula. 
 
 Eighth. About thirty -five miles farther (south), at the extremity of Lower Cali- 
 fornia, Cape Sau Lucas, the most celebrated promontory on the west coast of 
 America, is reached. And here we begin to turn north and east up the grand 
 portals of the Gulf of California, of whose best harbors, ports, and bays, we shall 
 now make such detail as is warranted from what has been noted of them, not a 
 single one of which, however, has been properly surveyed. 
 
 Ninth. The first is the roadstead of the old Mission of San Jose, often called 
 San JosiS del Cabo or of the Cape, from its proximity to Cape San Lucas, and 
 appears to be the same as the Bay of San Bernarb^ or Porto Seguro of old charts ; 
 from the cape it is distant some twenty miles near the mouth of the small river 
 or arroyo of San Jos6. This is a frequent stopping-place for whalers and the 
 schooners running from Guaymas, Mazatlan, San Francisco, and San Bias, and a 
 considerable quantity of fertile land is found in its vicinitj-. 
 
 Tenth. Eighty miles above San Jose is the well-known bay of La Paz, which 
 penetrates the land to the south some twenty-five miles from Espiritu Santo 
 Island, having a varying breadth of from six to ten miles. This is one of the 
 safest and finest bays and harbors in the two Californias, and has been known in 
 navigation and history for 350 years. It has been celebrated all this time for 
 the abundance of pearl-oysters, and has produced pearls among the most valued 
 gems of the jeweller and lapidarj^, and prized in the regalia of kings, emperors, 
 and princes. It was the centre of operations of the American naval and military 
 forces in 1846 to 1848, and is now the depot for llie Mexican coast line of steam- 
 ers from San Francisco. Since 1830 it has been the capital of Lower California, 
 where all government operations centre. 
 
 Tenth. The next harbor is the small one of the old Presidio of Loretto, which 
 has been known since 1100. It is formed by the Coronado and Carmen Islands, 
 and makes a fine anchorage in ordinary seasons ; in its vicinity the pearl-oyster 
 was formerly found in the greatest abundance. 
 
 Eleventh. The next harbor north of Loretto of value' is that of Moleje, so 
 called from an Indian pamp found there by the Jesuits before 1730. It is about 
 20 miles deep by an average of five, and is considered the best in the gulf after 
 La Paz. It is famous for the extent of its pearl-oyster beds, and was resorted 
 to by the divers from the Sinaloa coast in the time ol Cortez. 
 
 Twelfth. Above Moleje the coast of the peninsula abounds in small harbors, 
 
80 
 
 none of which are frequented or much better known than in the time of Father 
 Consan's voyage of 1746, the country having very few inhabitants above Moleje. 
 The large bay of Los Angeles, 180 miles above Moleje, capable as is said of hold- 
 ing hundreds of small vessels, has been frequently resorted to within the last ten 
 years, and its waters and tliose of Angel Island abound in a peculiar species of 
 whale and rich banks of pearl-oysters. Copper, sulphur, and argentiferous lead 
 minerals are said to be very abundant in the country around its shores, as 
 intimated by Consag in 1'746. 
 
 Thirteenth. Above this bay of Los Angeles, some 160 miles, is the bay and 
 port of San Felipe Jesus, which has been established since 1858, principally by 
 the exertions of Mr. "Willatowich, who has here another grant of land. This is 
 described as a fine little harbor, and has been used by American vessels bound 
 to the Colorado, and for communications overland to the bay of San Quintin on 
 the ocean coast, and for trading with the Indian tribes in the country around the 
 peninsular head of the gulf It was formerly, with that of Los Angeles, used by 
 the Jesuits and the Dominicans for conveying stores and effects in the founding 
 of the missions on the ocean coast above Santa Gertrudes, between 1760 and 
 1800, and since 1858 has attracted considerable attention. There is now (1867) 
 said to be a small settlement here. 
 
 Above San Felipe there are no ports or harbors worth mentioning, as they 
 are said to be shallow and but little frequented, or fitted for commerce, from the 
 dangerous shoals and cayes formed by the deposits of the Colorado. All the 
 forementioned islands, harbors, bays, and ports of the gulf, were first made 
 known and named by Padre Pedro Ugarte, in his voyage up the gulf in 1721, in 
 the sloop Triumph of the Gross, and more thoroughly and in detail by Father 
 Fernando Consag in 1746, continued in small degree by Padre Wineeslao Link 
 in 1765 ; since that period nothing has been done in these gulf lines of any 
 account. 
 
 THE riRST AND SBOONB VOYAGES OP SEBASTIAN VISOAINO. 
 
 Of the two voyages of Tisoaino, in the seventeenth century, Taylor gives 
 voluminous accounts, from which the following are extracts : 
 
 " In 1596, Sebastian Tiscaino was dispatched from Acapulco with three ves- 
 sels, having on board four Franciscan friars, to make a settlement in the country 
 of California, found by Fernandez Cortez, where he arrived after touching at the 
 isles of Mazatlan. At the isles of Mazatlan fifty of his men deserted, and Vis- 
 caino stretched across the mouth of the gulf and landed first at the bay of San 
 Sebastian, and, not finding this suitable, went farther up the bay of Santa Cruz, 
 where Cortez had made his colony in 1537, and at which he found many remains. 
 This bay of Santa Cruz, or Puerto de Cortez, is said to be the same now known 
 as the bay of La Paz, the name given to it by Tiscaino from the peaceable 
 character of the Indians, who here received him with good-will. They found in 
 the seas near by fish of all kinds in the greatest abundance, and pearl oysters 
 very plentiful. One of his vessels was dispatched up the gulf some one hundred 
 leagues to make further explorations, on returning from which a body of fifty of 
 the men were attacked by a large number of Indians, who killed nineteen of the 
 men and wounded all the rest : the enemy, robbing the dead soldiers, decked 
 themselves in their clothes and arms, and danced defiance to the invaders in 
 sight of the ship. On arriving at La Paz, where he had stopped two months, 
 Viscaino, finding his provisions running low, his houses being burnt, and his 
 shipping getting out of repair, concluded to discontinue the enterprise, as too 
 risky for his means and material, and, embarking his forces, arrived at Acapulco 
 in October, 1596. During their stay in California, the four priests made diligent 
 efforts to instruct the Indians in religion, and, «ith the humanity and prudence 
 of Tiscaino. succeeded in making them friends to the new visitors. 
 
 "Philip 11. having died in 1598, his successor, Philip III., in 1599, and twelve 
 months after the death of his father, directed the Count de Monterey, still acting 
 as viceroy, to dispatch Tisoauio on a second expedition. 
 
81 
 
 " The expedition, consisting of four vessels, the Capitana, Santo Tomas, the 
 Three Kings, and a smaller boat for entering the rivers, sailed in May of that 
 year, and arrived near the Mazatlan Islands early in June, from whence they 
 departed for California, and on the 14th June anchored in the place where 
 Cavendish had burnt the Santa Anna, and to which Viscaino gave the name of 
 San Bernab6, referred to before in our account, and so called to this day in 
 many modern charts, and which is the same as the Puerto Seguro of Cavendish. 
 
 " At this place fish of all kinds were found in such abundance that boats could 
 be loaded with very little labor, and pearl oysters strewed the shores in such 
 unaccountable quantities as to make the beach appear like an immense pavement 
 of brilliant mosaics ; game, wood, and water were also in abundance, and the 
 Indian population was civil and numerous. 
 
 " After four attempts to sail out of San Bernabe and frustrated by the north- 
 west winds and fogs, the fleet finally got out on the 5th July, and passed the 
 highlands northwest of the cape, known as the Sierra Bnfadosa, and on the 20th 
 Tiscaino brought his vessel to anchor in the great bay of La Magdalena, discov- 
 ered by Cabrillo, and some ocean points of which were mentioned by UUoa. 
 The bay was found to be very spacious, and populated with numerous rancherias 
 of docile Indians, and abounded in immense shoals of fish, whales, pearl oysters, 
 seals of all kinds, mussels, and other marine animals. On the 28th July they 
 left the bay, above which the land gradually fell down into a pleasant and level 
 country, the mountains retiring far inland, and on the 30th passed near to the 
 mouth of a river with dangerous breakers. This fact has been often doubted ; 
 but recent explorations of that vicinity, up to 1864, show that there are three 
 streams above Magdalena, which in the winter season are full io the sea. A short 
 distance above this they found a large bay, named by them from the immense 
 number of whales seen, Baja de Ballenas, in the position of which no two maps 
 or charts agree. It was inhabited by myriads of sea-birds, and all kinds of shell 
 and scale fish were found in the greatest abundance ; pearl oysters were also 
 found here, which seems to be their northern limits. Some eight leagues above 
 this they came to an island called the San Roque, on the 31st July, and to 
 another on the 5th August, called Asuncion, which seems to be the same as 
 those situated a few leagues below the present Bartolom6 or Turtle Bay. The 
 same abundance of fish and marine animals was met with here, and on shore 
 they found a large salina. Passmg by a very high mountain above, of bare and 
 naked rocks of varied and beautiful formations, which they named the Sierra 
 Pintada, or painted mountain, where great miues of gold and silver were sup- 
 posed to be. This mountain they were a week in passing, which on weathering, 
 they passed the island of Natividad or Cabrillo, and came to anchor, on the 19th 
 of August, under the isle of Cedros. Near San Bartolome, they met with immense 
 quantities of bitumen of an amber color, which was likely, from the beds of 
 asphaltum said to abound in that vicinity, and which they say had a very bad 
 smell : this fact was also mentioned by Cabrillo. The weather was so bad at 
 these places, then the last days of August, that he left and returned to Isle 
 Cedros several times, from the prevalence of the northwest winds, and they were 
 constantly being separated from the other ships. Cedros Island was found 
 covered with trees of pine and cedar, and inhabited by numbers of bold Indians. 
 To the north and east an immense bay formed, which is now named, and gener- 
 ally acknowledged in geography, as the bay of Sebastian Tiscaino, and not that 
 just north of Magdalena Bay, as located by De Mofras and others. On the 9th 
 September they left the island, steering northwest toward the mainland, and met 
 with the Isle Cenizas ; shortly afterward, on the mainland, a bay called by them 
 San Hypolito, surrounded by a very beautiful country, near which is situated at 
 present the ex-Missions of La Rosaria and Santo Domingo, the bay appearing to 
 be the same sometimes called San Francisco, and now known as Las Virgenes ; 
 four leagues from which was the bay of Santos Cosmo and Damian, near the 
 * shore of which was a large fresh- water lake and with a fine level country in the 
 
32 
 
 neighborhood, which appears to answer to the present bay of San Quintin. In 
 this vicinity they passed by the Mesas, or table-lands, of San Cyprian, which 
 appear to be tlie same as the curious five Hummocks of Vancouver (1792), form- 
 ing five distinctly separated hills rising from level lands, not far from which is 
 the Cape Engano of Cabrillo and ViscaiHo, supposed to be the same as Cape 
 Colnett of the present maps. The greatest confusion obtains in this part of 
 Viscaino's accouni, and his chart, published by Navarette in 1802, gives scarcely 
 any assistance in identifying his numerous anchorages ; this may be owing to 
 the bad weather he had continually experienced. Passing the islands San 
 Geornimo, Cenizas, Pajaros, and San Hilario, they came to the bay of San Simon 
 and San Jude, placed now in the vicinity of the ex-Mission of San Vicente, 
 where the Indians were verj troublesome ; and tiiis character they bore as late 
 as 1816, when they rose in rebellion. On the 1st of November, Viscaino left 
 this bay, and, proceeding a few leagues above, came to another large bay sur- 
 rounded by lofty mountains, which they named the bay of Todos Santos, a name 
 which it retains to this day. Shortly afterward, on the 5th, they discovered the 
 Coronadas Rocks, called Islas Desiertas by Cabrillo ; and a short distance north, 
 on the 10th of December, they entered a famous port, called by Viscaino San 
 Diego, which is the San Miguel of Cabrillo as now accepted in history. 
 
 "The next expedition of marine surveys undertaken by the Jesuits was that 
 of 1146, by Father Fernando Consag, of the missions of Dolores del Norte and 
 San Ignacio. This indefatigable priest was a native of Austria, and came to 
 California from Mexico in 1732 ; he died while superior of the missions, in 1759, 
 at the age of 56. Having left Loretto in four open boats, the party arrived in 
 a short time at the anchoras:e of San Carlos, in latitude 28°, from whence they 
 departed from the head of the gulf on the 9th June, 1746, to examine in detail 
 the shores, ports, harbors, bays, islands, etc. As many of the positions and 
 places mentioned by Consag still retain their names on most of the charts and 
 maps of the present time, but nevertheless are yet unfamiliar to seamen, and 
 their localities little known even in the peninsula to tliis day with exactitude, 
 and some not at all, we shall make merely cursory mention of them, for they 
 are all yet to be hydrographioally examined and located in all this dangerous 
 navigation. The first place he reached was three leagues from San Carlos, 
 called Santa Ana watering-place, which makes a harbor, the lofty capes of which 
 are San Gabriel and Las Virgenes ; farther up was the bay of Trinidad, where 
 there is a pearl-flsbery, dangerous from reefs and islets ; at the extremity was a 
 bay named San Bernarb^, with a low island near by abounding in sea-wolves: 
 Farther on is the cape of San Juan Bautista, with a dangerous rocky coast; the 
 land is low, of hard clay soil and red appearance. A day's sail beyond is the 
 bay of San Miguel ; the anchorage is tolerable, and plenty of sweet water is near 
 by. Close to this is the island Tortoguilla, sometimes called Cerro Blanco, the 
 shore of which is troubled with dangerous currents, surfs, reefs, and rocks. Op- 
 posite Cape San Gabriel commences the island of Sal Si Puedes, and a few 
 leagues from the cape is the bay of San Rafael, into which empties a small stream, 
 called Kadacaman ; in the shores are many oaves and boiling springs, some of 
 which springs are covered by the high tide ; the water of the bay is tinged in 
 patches of red and blue colors. A large pond of good water was found in one 
 part of the bay, and the Indians were docile and hospitable, but were enemies of 
 the Taquis of Sonora, begotten of fights and murders growing out of pearl-fish- 
 ing. A day's sail above San Rafael brought them to San Antonia Bay, in sight 
 of a dark mountain, having two small rivulets in the vicinity, and a fine fertile 
 country is seen. The next day a bay is reached, called Purgatory Bay, with sev- 
 eral rivulets and much good country, and many hospitable Indians were found, 
 to whom the father preached the Gospel; in the morning the boats were found 
 aground, with only a fathom of water. A day's sail farther brings you to Cape 
 Las Animas, a few miles to the north of which is the bay of Los Angeles, 
 where a very troublesome and numerous tribe of Indians lived, and great ene- 
 
33 
 
 mies of the pearl-divers ; their young females went entirely naked. A day's 
 sail above the Los Angeles is the bay of Our Lady of Remedios, containing a 
 pearl-fishery, in front of which is the island of Angel de la G-uarda, which is 
 very rugged and mountainous. The channel between the island and the coast 
 was found so full of whales that it was called then, and is still known to this 
 day as, the Canal de las Ballenas. 
 
 " In these waters the party found valuable pearl-oyster beds, those near the 
 shore being the best. On the mainland near by is a considerable rivulet ; the 
 anchorages in all these vicinities were found full of dangerous rocks above and 
 below water. A short distance off is the watering-place of San Juan and San 
 Pablo, near which is a red-colored hill. A day's sail above is a bay shaped like 
 the letter G, full of rocks, called the lay of San Pedro and San Pablo, the water- 
 ing-places of which are not very good. A short sail above this bay is another 
 very hirge and commodious one, capable of holding any number of vessels, called 
 the bay of Sin Luis Gonzaga, in the vicinity of which was afterward founded 
 Ihe mission of San Francisco Borja; in this bay were found great numbers of a 
 variety of shells resembling the white pearl-oyster ; also several rivulets of 
 brackish water enter the bay, filled with fisli ; and the Indians were very numer- 
 ous. The party dug wells on the shore, but the water was found bad, but at the 
 upper end of the bay is a good watering-place, called San Estanislao. In San 
 Luis Gonzaga Bay were found pearl-oysters and palm-trees ; it was in this vicin- 
 ity the Indians made the earthen jars mentioned by Ugarte twenty years before ; a 
 dog was also found among them and mentioned as a special curiosity, and their 
 women went entirely naked. A short distance above Gonzaga Bay opens anoth- 
 er bay, called La Visitacion, which seems to be of little account. Above Visita- 
 cion Bay is that of San Permin, which is the limit of habitation of the pearl- 
 oyster ; and a day's sail above is the bay of San Felipe de Jesus, and in another 
 day's sail is that of San Buenaventura, nfter which are no more harbors, but all 
 sand-flats and marshes. 
 
 " At San Felipe, which is due east from the mission of Rosario on the Pacific, 
 the water is very thick, of disagreeable odor and taste, and affects those who 
 drink it with a sickness similar to scurvy ; the rivulet which affords it is on the 
 north side, and the shores of the bay are mostly sandy, and the anchorages ex- 
 cellent at high tides and in front of the bay is a high rocky islet or farallon. In 
 these vicinities were seen great numbers of wild sheep and wild, goats, and in the 
 early mornings and evenings the land on the Sonora coast could be distinctly 
 seen. About 40 miles above San Felipe some red-colored marshes are reached, 
 not far from the mouth of the Colorado, near to which is a bow-shaped creek, 
 formed by an island, where the water dijfers from that of the sea and is caustic, 
 and causes such malignant sores and boils as to last for many days, taking off the 
 very skin like a blister, as was mentioned in Ugarte's voyage twenty years before. 
 At the inferior bay of San Buenaventura no good water was found. The party 
 ascended the river, but, meeting with the dangerous bores, did not get up as high 
 as the junction of Gila. Indeed, their canoes do not appear to have reached twenty 
 miles from the mouth of the Colorado, when they returned to the gulf on the 
 25th July, and, after meeting with many dangers from currents, rapids, and 
 storms, finally reached Loretto about the ioth of August, 1746, after an absence 
 of sixty days. Father Consag says, the reason why he mentions no latitude in his 
 journal is, that they are all set down exactly in his chart transmitted to the vice- 
 roy and published in Venegas' work, but the instruments of 1146 gave latitudes 
 from thirty to sixty miles out of the way. It is the chart which is the basis of all 
 other charts and maps of the gulf shores of California down to the year 1866, 
 and, of course, is full of dangerous errors." 
 
 The final attempt at the exploration of the gulf coasts of the peninsula under 
 the Jesuits was that of Padre Wincesloa Link, a native of Bohemia, who had 
 recently founded the Mission of San Francisco Borja (pronounced Boreas), which 
 is situated in about 28° 30', midway on the parallel of- the port of Los Angeles, 
 
34 
 
 on the gulf, and the northern extremity of the bay of Tiscaino, on the Paoiflo. 
 Link, who had only then heen a few years in California, instructed a number of 
 his Indians in the management of boats, for the purpose of fishing and exploring 
 the coasts of his mission district contiguous to the gulf, and by the aid of whom 
 in 1166 he made partial exploration of the great island of the Angel de la G-uarda 
 from Los Angeles port. He traveled over the greater part of the island on foot, 
 in which he met with several pleasant-looking valleys, but, finding no water, 
 animals, nor inhabitants, concluded it useless to prolong his investigations, and 
 returned to his port of departure a few days afterwards. He mentions that the 
 island is about 51 miles in length, and only some six miles in breadth ; Americans 
 who have touched at this island and others in the vicinity, on their way to the 
 Colorado, since 1850, afiBrm that there are valuable fisheries there, and the lands 
 are full of copper, silver, and lead minerals, and in some seasons inamense num- 
 bers of a small and peculiar species of whales. 
 
 Two years after this expedition of Link, in the year 1167, the missionaries of 
 the Society of Jesus were expelled from the establishments they had founded in 
 California; and from that time to 1861, or the' space of 100 years, the history of 
 the peninsula is vacant of transactions connected with their order. 
 
 NOTICES OP VOYAOES PROM 1800 TO 1846. 
 
 In a fur-trading and ottei -hunting expedition, fitted out from Boston in 1800, 
 Captain O'Keene rediscovered the bay of Virgenes, now often called San Quintin, 
 whereas present accounts make them two localities within a few leagues of each 
 other. This voyage is stated to have returned immense profits. 
 
 In December of the year 1801 the ship Dromio, of 600 tons, belonging to Bos- 
 ton, commanded by an old Northwest trader, and carrying 26 guns and 108 men, 
 sailed from that port for a smuggling voyage on tho west coast of America. 
 After making many good sales between Chili and Mexico, she arrived at Shel- 
 vook's Island, southwest from Cape San Lucas, near 21° latitude, in November, 
 1808, and employed her crew in killing fur seals, of which they succeeded in 
 accumulating in the course of a fortnight 3,000 skins, worth much good money 
 then in the Canton market, where the ship was bound. Prom this island, the 
 latitude of which is not stated, they went to Guaymas in December, and sold 
 some $! 50,000 of goods, and from thence to San Jos6 del Cabo ; at Ijoth these 
 places the ship's crew was treated with great kindness and liberality. Leaving 
 San Jose on the 31st December, they arrived at the bay of Todos Santos on ith 
 January, 1809, which he places in 31° 36' lat. and 116° 22' long., and which is 
 to the north of the bay of "Virgenes. Here many Indians arid but few Spaniards 
 were met with, though they were not far from the mission of San Miguel, and 
 succeeded, after trading with the people for 34 days, in exchanging most of the 
 remnants of their cargo for 1,700 fur-otter skins. "For their cargo shipped at 
 Boston two years ago," says Captain Little, who wrote an account of the voy- 
 age, " we had in its place $650,000 (coined), $40,000 in old silver plate, $10,000 
 iuplata fina and pearls, 3,200 fur-seal skins, and 1,100 fur-otter skins." 
 
 Between 183l-'39, Dr. F. D. Bennet made a voyage in an English whaling- 
 vessel to the Pacific coasts, in which they captured many sperm and other 
 whales on the coasts of Lower California, and visited the settlements near Cape 
 San Lucas. Between 1836 and 1846 great numbers of whalers, English, French, 
 and American, recruited with much advantage in these southern settlements, 
 principally at La Paz and San Jos^ del Cabo, and always found supplies of wood, 
 water, fish, fruit, beef, and vegetables at reasonable prices. As many as ten 
 whalers have been anchored at a time in these ports, and they are still resorted 
 to, and offer cheap, reasonable, and convenient outfits to the best sealing and 
 whaling grounds. 
 
 THE PAST AND PRESENT POPULATION OP OLB CALIPOBNIA. 
 
 La Perouse, when at Monterey, in 1786, was informed by the G-ovemor of the 
 two Californias that there were then, in the 15 mission districts of the peninsula, 
 
35 
 
 4,000 Indians and 64 Presidio soldiers. In Humboldt's " New Spain, " he states 
 that, in 1802, there were not more than 5,000 Indians and others, and that the 
 barbarous tribes to the north numbered about 4,000 more, or 9,000 in all. From 
 the best public authorities, Alexander Forbes says there were, in 1831, not over 
 15,000 inhabitants of all kinds. Loretto contained 300 souls, while La Paz with 
 the Eeal de San Antonio, contained 2,000 souls. In 1848, the village of 
 San Jos4 del Cabo contained some 200 people. In 1842, the Mexican Congress 
 admitted two delegates from the two Californias on a basis of 33,439 population, 
 12,000 of which were acknowledged as belonging to the peninsula. At the 
 time of the American occupation of 1847-'48, it was also admitted as numbering 
 about 12,000 souls. The seven Dominican missions of the north sea coast are 
 said to have contained 5,000 Indians in those establishuients in the year 1800. 
 
 When the American occupation ended, their vessels took away some 500 
 political refugees, who arrived in tlie different vessels-of-war at Monterey, in 
 October, 1848, from the peninsula ports below Loretto. After these left, and in 
 the fall of 1848, commenced a voluntary emigration from the peninsula to dig 
 gold in the new plaoeres of Alta California, which was estimated to take off 
 some 1,200 of the best classes of the population, about one-half of whom found 
 their way back before 1855. It is estimated, in 1867, that there are about 
 26,000 people in the country from San Diego to San Lucas, about 1,000 of whom 
 are foreigners, as miners, whalemen, traders, etc., including French, BngUsh, 
 Germans, and American, two-thirds of whom are Americans; the most of them 
 arrived since 1855. No accurate account of the population has ever been pub- 
 lished or ever ascertained since its foundation ; the old Spanish notices up to 
 1802 being merely confined to the mission colonies, or settlements. 
 
 Since the year 1863 a regular monthly line of steamers plies between San 
 Francisco and the Mexican coast ports as far as San Bias, touching at La Paz 
 and San Jose del Cabo, and bringing Lower California into steam connection 
 from British Columbia to Acapulco and Panama, and soon to Chili, which is 
 having an important influence on the political, Sf^cial, and commercial affairs of 
 the country. In February, 1867, a steamship company was organized in San 
 Francisco to connect all the settled gulf ports of Lower Cahfornia, which will 
 greatly stimulate commerce, mining, and emigration. The several incorporated 
 railroad companies to run through the southern counties of tlie State of Cah- 
 fornia to the Colorado valley will also have, within the next 10 years, important 
 effects on the destinies of the country. The same may be said of those pro- 
 posed from the valley of the Rio Grande to the port of Guaymas, which will 
 doubtless be accomplished before 20 years have elapsed. 
 
 THE CLIMATE AND COUNTRY OF THE CALIFORNIA PENINSULA — EAINS WITHOUT 
 
 CLOUDS. 
 
 The climate of the country between the boundary and Magdalena Bay is one 
 of the most delightful, salubrious, and equable on the face of the globe, and, if 
 settled, would be among the most accessible and acceptable sanitariums in the 
 world, and is admirably adapted to raising many of the fruits of the torrid zone, 
 and all of those of the Mediterranean basin as well as all the vegetables and 
 cereals of Alta California; and all agree that they are of much better quality 
 than those raised above San Diego. On the gulf shore, under the same parallels, 
 it is not only much hotter, but is subject in the summer and fall months to ter- 
 rible hurricanes and water-spouts ; but these do not occur every year, and prac- 
 ticed mariners know how to avoid and escape from them to the ports close by 
 with little difficulty. In the winter months, after the first rains of November to 
 May, the transparency and delightful effects of the cooled atmosphere are said to 
 be so exhilarating as to be unequalled in the world ; the moonlights are as bril- 
 liant as those of Arabia Felix and Palestine, and good eyes can read print with 
 ease from the light of the moon ; the earliest notices since 1539 to 1867 remark 
 these facts. 
 
36 
 
 A beautiful phenomena is experienced in the peninsular meteorologies which 
 ire felt on land and on sea, particularly on tlie gulf coasts, and we believe is 
 mown in no other country. This is the fall of rains in the summer and autumn, 
 when the sky is without clouds and the atmosphere perfectly serene. Much has 
 oeen written on this by various eminent savants, and which, as far as we are 
 iware, is not accounted for. But may it not be the showers falling from those 
 mmense water-spouts or cloud-bursts of which frequent examples occur in the 
 julf shores, through the Colorado country, and below the Santa Barbara Channel, 
 and as high north as the great basin of Washoe and Utah, of whicli five or six 
 recorded examples have occurred since 1861? May not these showers, talcen up 
 by the whirlwinds generated by the cloud-bursts, sweep off the falling waters far 
 from their centres, and, with the force of the terrific winds, carry the rams into 
 perfectly liquid atmospheres, where they deposit their drops upon the earth ? 
 This question may be propounded to scientific meteorologists. 
 
 FOSSILS AND VALUABLE MINERALS. 
 
 The peninsula is said even to exceed the State of California in" the extent of its 
 fossil remains of shells, fish, mammalian animals, and even, as is suggested, fossil 
 man. There are immense formatious of fossil remains in the vicinities of Mag- 
 dalena Bay, Loretto, and Moleje, noticed by the Jesuit writers and by Belcher 
 and others. 
 
 Argentiferous galenas are very common above Moleje, and pure sulphur occurs 
 in heavy deposits near the volcano vicinities, not far from the same old mission. 
 Copper ores abound in several localities between San Diego and Rosario, and 
 two mines have been worked there ever since 1855, and copper ores are also 
 said by the Jesuit writers to be very commonljou the northern gulf coasts and 
 islands ; those of Ceralvo, San Jose, and Bspiritu Islands being very rich and 
 now well known. It is likely, when the business is well established, that the 
 copper deposits of the peninsula will be very profitably worked, from the prox- 
 imities of all of them to harbors and ports, as in no other parts of the world are 
 they so accessible to good seaports. Quicksilver ores are also said to be found 
 near Santa Catalina Mission since 1858. The salinas of the ocean coasts from 
 San Quintin to Magdalena are very numerous and plentiful, and the salt is easily 
 gathered. The salt-mines of Carmen Island are said to be sufficiently extensive 
 to supply the whole world, and large quantities of salt have been sent to San 
 Francisco during the last ten years, as it is very dry, pure, and of tlie primest 
 quality, and is taken out only a short distance from ship-anchorage. Before 
 1750 the Jesuits offered to the viceroy to entirely support the California missions, 
 if this deposit were granted to them by the King of Spain, but the offer was d'e- 
 clined. For the last few years the Mexican Government has raisod considerable 
 revenues from farming out this salt-mme. All these Salinas will add greatly to 
 the resources of the country for the reduction of mineral ores and salting the 
 product of the teeming fisheries of the coasts. 
 
 THE SHELL-FISHERIES. 
 
 Pearl-oysters are not found everywhere on the coast, but intercalate at inter- 
 vals, preferring well-sheltered bays or harbors where fresh water empties ; but 
 this rule is not invariable. They are met with, for over 1,000 miles of shore line 
 between Magdalena and arouud the cap'e, and all the way up the gulf north 
 above Angel Guardian Island, and the missionary writers state that after hurri- 
 canes, they are known to have been thrown up on the beaches by the cart-load. 
 There are, doubtless, many extensive beds never fislied or even discovered in 
 these little-known seas, as is the habit of the oyster family, and there is every 
 likelihood they could be cultivated and increased as are the oysteries of Long 
 Island and the Potomac, or of France and England. 
 
37 
 
 The pearl-fisheries, which are always prosecuted near noon and in cloudless 
 weather, are still pursued in the peninsula waters every year, and it is very 
 likely the new diving-apparatus and machinery, getting into such common use 
 in San Francisco and other large ports for submarine operations, would succeed 
 admirably in facilitating not only the finding and worlsing of them, but in haul- 
 ing larger numbers to tlie surface. * * * It is to be borne in mind that the 
 value of good pearls will make it always profitable to look for them, and a num- 
 ber one size and lustre is worth still from $5-000 to $6,00ii, and even more, for 
 single pearls. Ordinary pearls are always abundant every year, but extraordi- 
 nary sizes and colors are very rare. The most splendid of the pearls in the 
 Spanish regalia were brought fr m the Gulf of California before Napoleon's 
 invasion, and they had always been in high demand in Spain tince the days of 
 Certez. An American minister, in 1863, says that some of these pearls were as 
 large as pigeon's eggs, and were among the most valuable jewels in the crown 
 regalia. Humboldt mentions that, in 1802, a Mexican priest invented a diving- 
 bell for the purpose of taking pearl-oysters, which he experimented on in one ot 
 the lakes near Mexico City, over 7,000 feet above the level of the sea, but noth- 
 ing more ever came of it. The pearl-oyster ha been eagerly hunted in Lower 
 California every year since the times of Cortez, and the early divers, even before 
 his arrival, found them much easier than they did after 1750, and the Indians 
 possessed great numbers of them, which they counted as money, and hung 
 in strings as to this day they preserve their common shell money ; the early 
 traders got great bargains by exchanging trinkets and knives for valuable gems. 
 After heavy storms in the season of 1740, immense banks of pearl-oysters were 
 thrown up by the waves, and completely paved many parts of the ocean coasts 
 below and above Magdaleua Bay! The Indians of the vicinities of the Mission 
 of San Ignacio, then recently civilized, knowing the estimation in wliieh these 
 were held by the Spaniards, brought large quantities of pearls from this sea- 
 upheaval to the mission, and sold them to Manuel Osio and his fellow-soldiera 
 for trifling values.' With these treasures he procured liis discharge, and, hasten- 
 ing to Sinaloa, purchased boats, supplies, aud men, and in 1742 was fortunate 
 enough to fish up not less than 127 pounds' weiglit of pearls, and in 1744 the 
 large amount of 275 pounds, all of which made Osio the richest man in Lower 
 California, and his descendants live tliere to this day. This lucky armador & 
 perlas afterward commenced the first silver-mine near the Real de San Antonio, 
 but he is said not to have made much money by his mining operations. 
 
 All kinds and varieties of tlie cactus or prickly-pear family, amounting to some 
 fifty distinct species, abound in every part of Baja California, and yield the most 
 delicious and healthy quality of fruits in the greatest abundance. The family of 
 the agaves (mercals, magueys, or century plants) are extremely abundant and 
 varied, and it is likely in the future will niaKe an important article of commerce 
 for the manufacture of spirits from the roots, and of rope, bagging, and paper 
 fibre, from the leaves or pencas, which often weigh fifty pounds. It is certain 
 that the fibre of the agaves could be furnished easily and in the greatest abun- 
 dance, in any quantities, and within short distances of ship-anchorage. For rope 
 and baggage it exceeds every fibre we have seen in strength, length of fibre, and 
 durability. The family of acacia-trees, called mesquites, algarrobas, and locusts, 
 abound in every part of the country. Two kinds of native palms, bearing edible 
 fruit, are very abundant, and several kinds of cone-bearing trees, as pines, cedars, 
 etc. Oaks, wild plums, cottonwoods, sycamores, willows, and elder, are also met 
 with in mountain and valley. 
 
 The missionaries, after 1730, introduced the Arabian date-palm, which suc- 
 ceedi'd admirably, and yields abundantly, and also oranges, lemons, and all the 
 species of the citrine family — pine-apples, bananas, plantains, and the most of the 
 valuable and curious fruits produced in Mexico, below the level of 3,000 feet. 
 They also planted the vine, olive, fig, pomegranate, almond, peach, quince, and 
 even plums, apples, pears, melons, watermelons, and such like, in more elevated 
 
38 
 
 ,nd cooler districts; the vine, fig, olive, currant-grape, almond, quince, and 
 leaoh are much more luscious, and grow much quicker, and with less labor and__ 
 ixpense, than in Alta California, and in many special localities are unsurpassed 
 n the world for hixuriance, sweetness, and flavor. The fig and grape are much 
 weeter than in our State, and the grape ripens better and quicker, from hotter 
 nd drier suns, and makes much richer wine, brandy, raisins, and currants. 
 Jefore 1849 the Lower Californians sent up annually to Monterey large qnanti- 
 ies of dry figs, currants, grapes, dates, and peaches, and cheese also, which 
 pere sold at reasonable rates and good profits. The cultivation of all the fruits 
 lamed, and of many others of Asia and Oceanica, could be indefinitely extend- 
 d, with sufficient population and a stable government. 
 
 Wheat, barley, oats, maize, or corn, and all the cereals of Europe or Asia 
 vhich have beeu tried, succeed well, according to localities and temperature, 
 s well as such vegetables as sweet potatoes, okra, peas, beans, cabbages, and 
 mmpkins, onions, egg-fruit, and the native vegetables used for the table in 
 tiexico and Peru. The sugar cane has been cultivated for more t an a century, 
 ind y'.elds a sugar as strong and sweet as that of Peru, and very abundant in 
 uice. Coffee has also been tried, and its quality is excellent, as the valleys of 
 Jower California, where sheltered from heavy winds, resemble in climate and 
 loil the elevated country near Mocha in Arabia If there is plenty of such land 
 n the pen'nsula, coffee can be easily made to become a profitable business, but 
 t must be always grown under the line of heavy frosts, or it bears no fruit. 
 
 The date-palm, in all its varieties, such as are found in Kgypt, Morocco, and 
 Irabia, is capable of being cultivated to an indefinite extent in Baja California, 
 IS it grows in upland and lowland vigorously, and bears the finest quality of 
 'ruits. The same may be said of the cocoa-nut palm, which could be made to 
 lourish by the milhon ; indeed, tliere would be no difficulty in growing any 
 ipecies of palm, except those peculiar to moist districts. 
 
 One of the best portions of the peninsula, in soil, fertility, climate, salubrity, 
 ind abundant fisheries, is that settled by the Dominican friars between 1774 
 md 1800. The best map of this portion of old California (as we are informed 
 )y Captain Kimberly, who has frequently visited it as trader and otter-hunter) 
 s Payot's map of 1863. There is much good land in the vicinity of the esteros, 
 ir lagoons, and also near the missions of Rosario, San Vicente, Santo Domingo, 
 md Santo Tomas ; several permanent streams and a number of coast lagoons 
 urnish abundance of excellent water for animals, irrigation, and ship supplies, 
 md turtle and fish are exceedingly abundant and easily taken. The orange, 
 emon, banana, date-palm, grape, tig, olive, almond, peach, pomegranate, quince, 
 md plum, do much better there than to the north of San Diego, and are not 
 mly sweeter, but are cultivated with much less difficulty than in Upper Califor- 
 lia, and arrive at maturity much earlier. The climate, from its proximity to the 
 lea, is not only extremely salubrious, the people enjoying uncommonly good 
 lealth, and being long livers, but the atmosphere is extremely fine, pleasant, 
 md invigorating, and seldom troubled with cold summer fogs and winds ; these 
 acts are well known since 1770, the testimony of travelers and seamen being • 
 miform. Many good harbors and ports are found, with every requisite of wood 
 md sweet water for the use of ships; and all that is wanted to make a pros- 
 perous country is population and a stable government : there is said to be suf- 
 Icient good land and other requisites to maintain and build up a large city^ 
 
 Since 1851 all this part of the coast has been infested by runaway rascals and 
 vagabonds from Alta California and Mexico, who have'greatly injured the pros- 
 sects of the respectable people settled in that section of Lower California, This 
 fot to such a pass that between 1856 and 1861 several of these desperadoes had 
 ;o be shot, and their less guilty companions run out of the country. If it were 
 yell protected and governed, this section would rapidly increase in wealth and 
 jopulation, as it has, besides the above-mentioned advantages, excellent mines 
 )f copper, silver, lead, coal, and other valuable minerals. The opposite parallels 
 
39 
 
 on the gulf, whioh are entirely unsettled, are also said to contain much good 
 land and timber, with sufficient good water for large settlements. 
 
 THE CHINESE AS LABORERS IN LOWER CALIFORNIA. 
 
 Whatever may be done in future under the different political aspects which 
 may obtain in the California peninsula, no great amount of agricultural, marine, 
 or mineral products can be accumulated without a sure and sufficient supply of 
 tropical laborers at reasonoble rates The only people who can fill this neces- 
 sary vacancy for long years are the Chinese, who have proved sufficiently docile 
 in railroad and manufacturing operations in Cahfornia State, or in Peru and the 
 Sandwich Islands as cultivators of sugar and other products. "With proper 
 treatment and good laws, under the management of capitalists, the copper, sil- 
 ver, and lead mines, the overflowing fislieries, the cultivation of the vine, olive, 
 almond, date-palm, maguey, cocoa-palm, nuts, flgs, and currants, and of sugar, 
 cotton, coffee, chocolate, or cocoa, tea, and hundreds of other tropical aod in- 
 tertropical producliions could be carried on with great profits and in a very 
 healthy and desirable climate, and in the vicinity of good shipping ports. The 
 Chinese are not stranger^i on the Mexican coasts, having resided in Acapulco, 
 San Bias, and other places, for years before 1800, having come m the old 
 galleons from Manilla as merchants, servants, or sailors, and many of their 
 descendants exist to this day in Western Mexico. There are no tropical laborers 
 either as good, or as cheap and docile, as the laboring classes O'f China, and after 
 a while they would soon make permanent residence in the country. They 
 are doubtless intended by Divine Providence to play a most important part in 
 the development of the countries of Pacific North and South America : nothing 
 can long obstruct their coming. 
 
 THE RAILROAD LINES TO CONNECT SAN FRANCISCO WITH LOWER CALIFORNIA. 
 
 There are now regularly organized railroad corporations to connect the bay 
 of San Francisco with the countries of the Colorado and the G-ulf of California, 
 which without a doubt will be completely effected before the year 1880, or only 
 13 years hence. These may be enumerated as follows, and all of them will join 
 vrith the great raihoad of the central route between Sacramento and Great Salt 
 Lake, and so to the Mississippi, which will be completed by the 1 st of January, 
 1810: 
 
 1. The southern railroad coast line from San Jos6 to Gilroy, and over 
 through the Tulare Valley, and from thence by the way of los Angeles and 
 San Diego to the Colorado, generally called the Phelps Company. 
 
 2. The Sacramento and Arizona Railroad Company, from Sacramento via 
 Stockton, Tisalia, Fort Tejon, and to the junction of the Colorado and Gila. 
 
 3. Air-line railroad line from Matagorda Bay, in Texas, by the Mesillia Valley, 
 the table-lands of Chihuahua, Arizona, and across the Colorado Valley and the 
 coast mountains to San Diego Bay ; called Pease and Wood's Line. 
 
 4. A line from Great Salt Lake, via the Pahranagat silver mines, to the Colo- 
 rado River at a navigable point. 
 
 5. The railroad company of General Angel Trias, which as a route surveyed 
 from Matamoras and through Tamaulipas, Coahuila, Chihuahua, Durango, and 
 Sonera, to the port of Guaymas, with liberal grants of land, mining privileges, 
 etc., from the Mexican Government. 
 
 All these routes will be accompanied by telegraph lines. Railroad and tele- 
 graph lines will, of course, follow through the length and breadth of Lower 
 California, and through all parts of Sonora, and down to Mazatlan, there being 
 no insuperable difficulties in existence. The Overland Mail route, through from 
 Texas and Arizona to San Diego, will likely also be soon reopened, and after 
 that we shall speedily have regular mail lines between San Diego through to 
 Cape San Lucas. So that, within a time much shorter than expected, daily mail 
 
40 
 
 oommunicationa may be instituted betweeii San Francisco and the southern 
 parts of the peninsula, and also from the Gila all through Sonora and Sinaloa "to 
 Mazatlan. 
 
 The eifeols of the Panama Railroad, the railroads through Tehuantepeo, 
 Nicaragua, Honduras, Chiriqui, and Costa Rica, and the great ship-caaal 
 through the Isthmus of Darien, all of which will, doiibtless, be effected by 1880, 
 the passage by the canal of the Isthmus of Suez, the steam lines from California 
 to China and from China to Europe, with the telegraph crossing from America 
 to Asia, and thence through Russia to England, and so back to America, will, 
 in the short space of twenty years, accumulate such overwhelming results in the 
 North Pacific State as to involve, by the forces of an irresistible attraction, the 
 peninsula of California in the grand circle of events in commerce and politics 
 now rapidly hastening to a providential culmination. 
 
 PRESENT EXPORTS AND IMPORTS. 
 
 A recent number of the San Francisco Evening Bulletin gives the following 
 summary of Lower California exports for the year ISST, taken from official 
 Mexican sources : 
 
 Values. Values. 
 
 Hides, 13,000 piece $32,600 Salt Pish, 1,150 pounds $96 
 
 Salt, 2.000 tons 12,000 Brazil-wood, 150 tons 3,000 
 
 Cheese, 100,000 pounds 8,000 Silver ores, 260 tons, cost price 5,600 
 
 Brown sugar, or panoche, 29,000 lbs . . . 11,000 Silver metal, 2,000 marks 16,000 
 
 Dried figs, 32,600 pounds 1,300 Gold, 80 ounces 1,120 
 
 Eaisins, 28,500 pounds 2,200 Tortoise-shell, 300 pounds 6,000 
 
 Soap, 2,610 pounds 2,610 Pearls, value 21,750 
 
 Wine, 54 barrels 540 Mother of pearl shell, or concha nacar 
 
 Dried dates, 20,000 pounds 1,200 495,700 lbs. at 6 cts 29,743 
 
 Oranges, 22,000 M 220 
 
 Amounting in all to about $155,000 in value. This makes no note of such valu- 
 able material as whale-oil, seal, sea-elephant and sea-lion oils, and that class of 
 marine products, nor of pelts or fur seal, or of the sea otter, or the numbers of 
 cattle, mules, and horses sold in Alta California, which must have made the true 
 value of exports double. In 1866 the exports of mineral ores and many other 
 articles had greatly augmented, and large amounts of whale and marine animal 
 oil, with sea-otter pelts, were known, beyond cavil, to have been exported out of 
 the country, and the shipments of Carmen Island salt were very considerable. 
 It is no exaggerated estimate to put down the .value of the exports of Lower 
 California in the year 1866 at one million of dollars; and it is just as likely, from 
 the present high prices of oil, it would run to two millions of dollars.